Our Yearlong Struggle
by A Writer With Mixed Interests
Summary: After losing Omid, Christa begins to distance herself from Clementine. With the lack of communication and a baby on the way, will they still be able to work as a team? *Co-written with heidipoo*
1. Losses

**Our Yearlong Struggle**

**\\\\**

**Hi! So I don't know if this has already been done, but we just decided to write a story together about Christa and Clem's 16-month long struggle after the tragic death of Omid. This story will be co-written with the lovely heidipoo. :) How we're going to do it is that we'll type in what we want, send it off, and then add on. So our different writing styles will be combined.**

**Summary: After losing Omid, Christa begins to distance herself from Clementine. With the lack of communication and a baby on the way, will they still be able to work as a team?**

**Disclaimer: Neither Heidi or I own anything having to do with Telltale's The Walking Dead.**

**Enjoy! :D**

**\\\\**

Christa burst the door open with a rifle in her hand, only to find the worst sight she could ever imagine: Her boyfriend, Omid, lying dead on the bathroom's tile floor, a gunshot wound in his chest.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to!"

Christa turned, and the girl who had spoken immediately dropped the gun in her hands and put her arms up in surrender. But Christa was in a rage. This teenager had _killed_ Omid, just shot him without any second thoughts. This. Little. Bitch.

Without any hesitation, the pregnant woman shot the begging teenager in mid-sentence, sending her down as well.

Christa began to sob and slowly walked over to Omid's body, gathering it in her arms.

"Oh God...Omid...Oh God, Omid...Omid can you hear me? Omid..."

The woman hugged her boyfriend's body as she cried. She looked at the gun that had killed him, and then at the little girl standing about ten feet away. Nine-year-old Clementine was crying as well, and looked extremely guilty.

_Clementine...how could you..._ Christa thought.

Clementine took about two steps forward, wiping her eyes. She was afraid of what was about to happen.

"C-Christa?" the small girl barely managed to get out. She took a few more hesitant steps forward, but Christa only ignored Clementine. She continued to sob over Omid, and although Clem didn't want to cry at the moment, a few stray tears slipped down her cheeks as she watched the sight in front of her.

Somehow, she couldn't help but to feel like this was all her fault. If only she had left her gun on her, then that teenager wouldn't have been able to get it. She just kept getting people killed.

"I'm sorry," she said in a whisper, her voice now sounding more childlike than ever. But Clementine knew better. Sorry wasn't going to make Christa feel better, and sorry wasn't going to bring Omid back. Hell, it wouldn't bring anybody back.

"Clementine..." Christa trailed off in between her sobs. "Can you just, give me a minute?" She choked up.

Clem nodded, "Okay." She hurried and grabbed her things, and walked out of the bathroom. When she passed Omid's bloody body on the ground, she cringed away, but silently said her goodbyes. He tried to save her, just like everyone else who had ended up dead trying to protect her.

_I'm sorry, Omid,_ Clementine thought.

She sat on the ground outside of the bathroom door and thought about all the people who had died because of her. Chuck, Kenny, Ben, Omid...and Lee. How could she be so stupid? She should know better than to do these things.

A groaning noise from inside the bathroom could be heard. Then two. Both Omid and his killer had turned.

"No..." Clem whispered, getting up and reentering the bathroom.

When she entered, Christa had already killed the teenager, but was backing away from the undead Omid.

"Christa!" Clementine exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Omid..." Christa mumbled, before shooting him in the head, and watching his undead body fall to the ground. The woman began crying again, and Clem couldn't help but to start crying again too. All of this made her think of Lee, the man that took care of her for so long, and she had just lost him not too long ago.

She felt sad that it was just her and Christa now. They were the only two left out of the whole group. They were alone. And Christa was still pregnant too...so what would happen when it was time for the baby to come?

"Are you okay, Christa?" Clementine asked, placing a small hand on the older woman's shoulder as she knelt over her boyfriend's body.

Christa turned around and looked at the little girl. "We better go now," she replied, her voice low and lifeless.

She got up and slowly walked out of the bathroom, turning around one last time to get a final glimpse at her boyfriend, the father who would never meet his baby.

"I love you so much, Omid," Christa whispered. "I'm so sorry."

She held the door open for Clementine, who followed her out of the bathroom.

The two females trudged along the dirt road, not a word coming from either of them. Christa had stopped crying, but her reddened eyes were now dead and drained of life.

Clementine was really worried about the older woman. After all, Christa was her friend, and she didn't want anything to happen to her. She was all Clem had left, and Clem knew that she didn't want to be alone, so she had to do a good job and look out for Christa.

They had been walking for a while now, Clementine could tell by how the sun was setting in the sky. She knew they needed to find somewhere safe to make camp, but Christa wasn't saying a word. She was consumed in her thoughts at the moment, making Clementine feel more alone than ever.

"Should we make camp?" Clementine asked, looking up at the older woman who was walking in front of her.

"Here?" Christa asked in a drained voice. "It's too open."

"But it's getting dark," Clem replied. "Lee told me that you shouldn't travel at night."

Christa sighed, sounding almost aggravated. "Fine. We'll find a secluded area to stop at and make camp for the night." She stared straight ahead, not even bothering to look Clem in the eyes.

The little girl wrapped her skinny arms around herself and looked down with a sigh. She knew that Christa deemed her as responsible for Omid's death.

They walked for about thirty more minutes, until Clementine pointed out a small fenced-in area with a tent-like cover over it. Thunder was heard, and they looked up as a light rain began to pour down. Of _course_ it would rain at a time like this.

"Come on," Christa spoke barely above a whisper, making away to their shelter for the night.

"I'm freezing," Clementine complained, shivering. "We can at least try to make a fire, right?" she asked, looking up at Christa.

"You can if you want," Christa replied, her voice still sounding as lifeless as ever. "But I'm going to bed. It's been a long day." Clem then watched as the older woman went and found her a spot to lie down where she wouldn't get wet.

"Are you sure-" Clementine began to ask, but was interrupted.

"I don't want to hear it, Clem," Christa snapped.

Clem sighed, she didn't like this. She definitely did not like this tension between her and Christa, but she didn't know what she could do to make it better. Christa was grieving, and she probably would be for a while. Clementine knew that she'd just have to stick it out for the better, and hope for the best, because she wasn't a quitter.

**\\\\**

**So what did you think? :) Please tell us and hopefully another chapter will come out this weekend! **


	2. Searching For Supplies

**So, aside from heidipoo, we got reviews from Guest, Assassin's Creed Master, and NyanBonk for the first chapter! Thank you!**

**\\\\**

Clementine's golden eyes snapped open the next morning. She sat up and looked around, noticing only Christa sitting up nearby. But where was Omid? And why did Christa look so crestfallen?

It didn't take long to realize that yesterday's events weren't just some horrible dream. Images of Omid getting shot in the chest, over and over again, went on through Clem's head. The little girl sat up and bowed her head.

She looked up and attempted to approach Christa, reaching her arm out. "Christa..."

The groaning of a walker interrupted her. Christa closed her eyes momentarily and slowly got up. "Let's go."

Clementine frowned. She didn't want Christa to be hostile towards her now. Not when teamwork was such a vital thing to their survival at the moment.

"Christa?" Clem questioned as she stood up from her makeshift bed, ready to travel for the day. But Christa merely ignored the smaller girl. "Are you mad at me?" she asked, following behind the older woman. It was apparent she was angry, but Clementine wanted her to say it directly.

After a long pause, Christa sighed. "No, Clementine, I'm not mad at you, okay?" For the first time, she was able to make eye contact with the little girl. "What happened wasn't your fault."

But her dark eyes said otherwise.

Clem really wanted to believe that, she really did. Christa blamed her, and she knew it. She looked at the ground sadly, knowing that they couldn't give up just because someone died. People died all the time now.

Clementine's stomach growled. The nine-year-old reached into her purple backpack to see if there was any food, but there was nothing, except for a drawing of Kenny and his family, her treasured photo of Lee, and that _damn_ gun.

"We should look for supplies," Clementine stated slowly, not sure what Christa would say.

"That's a good idea..." Christa said. "But I have no idea where we are."

"Me either," Clem frowned.

"Guess we should just keep going..." The older woman trailed off. They walked along a dirt road for a little while, silence filling the air between them. Clementine didn't like the quiet, it made her feel uncomfortable.

"I really am sorry," she blurted out, not really thinking about it. But she knew the relationship between her and Christa would change now, and she absolutely didn't want that to happen.

Christa didn't say anything in reply, only placed her free hand on her protruding stomach. No doubt she was thinking about what could have been.

Before long, the two females came across an old drugstore. Clementine was reminded of the drugstore back in Macon, when she was with Lee. But she couldn't think of him now. She glanced up at Christa and slowly removed her backpack, taking out her firearm.

Christa placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Let me go in first. Stay behind," she instructed firmly.

"But Christa-" Clem protested.

"Do as I say!" Christa hissed at her, a bit harshly. She didn't mean it, though.

Clementine looked at the ground and allowed Christa to walk in front of her.

She felt intimidated by the older woman if that was the right word for it. But she allowed Christa to go in front of her, making sure that the drugstore was safe. Clementine allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts for a moment, and she remembered when she and Lee were trying to get into the pharmacy at his parents' drugstore. She felt special that he confided in her about his past life as a murderer.

"All clear!" Christa called out, pulling Clementine out of her thoughts and making her jump a bit.

"Is there anything good in there?" Clementine asked as she too made her way inside.

"Hopefully," Christa said, her eyes scanning the shelves carefully.

Clem kept her gun close just in case. She opened one of the cabinets behind a register and was surprised to see two bottles of painkillers inside. This would be perfect for when Christa gave birth. She smiled lightly in relief and placed them both in her backpack.

"I found some medicine," Clementine informed Christa, who was searching around nearby.

"Keep looking," Christa replied, glancing at the little girl only briefly. "There's got to be some more stuff."

She searched intently with her golden eyes, and that's when she spotted some canned food and a few energy bars on one of the shelves in the store. "I found a little bit of food," she said nonchalantly.

"That's better than nothing," Christa replied. "Did you find any water?" Christa asked, knowing that she would need it when she gave birth to her and Omid's baby.

Clem shook her head, "No."

"Anything else?" Christa asked.

"I don't think so," the little girl answered.

"Damn..."

"We can try again later?" Clementine suggested.

"I suppose we'll have to, if we can't find anything," Christa grumbled.

She lead Clementine out of the drugstore, the latter carrying the items in her backpack. Surprisingly, it wasn't too heavy. Either the items didn't weigh as much as she thought, or she was getting physically stronger.

After a little while, Christa stopped and groaned at a pain in her back. Clementine quickly walked over to assist her.

"Are you okay, Christa?" she inquired.

"I'm fine," she waved off, nonchalantly.

"Are you sure?" Clementine asked. "Maybe the baby-"

"It's not time!" Christa snapped, turning to glare at Clementine. The little girl actually flinched when Christa yelled at her. She had never done that before, and Clem didn't know how long this was going to go on. Would it be worse when the baby actually got here? Clem didn't even want to imagine that thought, because she knew it would automatically be worse. Christa would be even more stressed out than now.

"I'm sorry..." Clem mumbled.

"Let's go," Christa ordered.

Without a word, Clem followed the older woman, but once again she was pulled into a string of thoughts. The baby was going to be here very soon, sooner than they would have liked. But how were they going to raise it in a world full of the walking dead? It was going to be very risky.

Clementine sighed. Where was Lee when she needed him?

Christa slowly sat down on a bench after walking a little ways, placing her head in her hands. She knew she had to be strong for Clementine, but it wasn't easy right now. Her pregnancy was just the icing on the god-forsaken cake.

Clem attempted to approach, when the sound of three walkers cut that off. Christa swore under her breath and got up, upset that she couldn't take a moment's rest without a damn lurker walking around every five seconds.

"Should I-" Clem began.

"No, don't waste the ammunition," Christa scolded. She walked away as quickly as possible. "Come on."

**\\\\**

**And that's where we'll end it. Up next, a certain event that we've all questioned occurs. Please review, we always love to hear feedback! :)**


	3. Premature Birth

**Thank you all again for the feedback!**

**\\\\**

More walking, walking, and walking...Clementine sighed as they kept along the dirt trail. Where were they even going? Surely they weren't just walking around for no reason. They needed someplace safe to go, and by the looks of it, they were in the middle of nowhere at the moment. Nothing around them but dirt and trees, and the bathroom where Omid died was long behind them now.

Christa hadn't spoken to Clementine in a while, not since the walker they encountered a few miles back. But Clem noticed that Christa kept grabbing her protruding pregnant belly, almost in pain. She winced, and Clem knew that she was trying to act like everything was fine, but it wasn't. Clementine knew that the baby wouldn't stay inside Christa forever.

"We need a plan," Clem spoke almost urgently.

"We're in the middle of nowhere Clem," Christa replied, her breath coming out in short pants.

Clementine hesitated before she spoke her next words. "Omid talked about a place up north...somewhere that you can have the baby safely. He said-" She tried to explain all of this to the older woman, but she was bitterly interrupted.

"Clementine!" Christa nearly yelled, making the much younger girl jump.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" Clementine questioned worriedly.

"I think-" Christa tried to speak, but her eyes widened in horror. "Oh no...it's not time yet! Oh God...oh my God!" She placed a hand on her swollen belly and looked at the child before her fearfully. "My water broke...!"

"Is that normal?" Clem looked genuinely scared. "What's going on?!"

"The baby's coming, _that's_ what's going on!" Christa snapped a little louder than she intended. Clementine flinched away from the older woman, but only for a second. She was still only nine years old, she didn't know anything about babies. And now Omid was gone. But the child wasn't going to let this baby be born in the middle of the woods. Clem took Christa's hand, her golden eyes scanning around.

"We need to get you somewhere safe," she stated the obvious.

"Okay..." Christa trailed off, her voice so full of fear. Omid was supposed to be here for all of this, now what was she going to do? She couldn't raise a newborn on her own, especially not in the apocalypse.

"Can you walk?" Clementine asked as she grabbed the older woman's hand and squeezed it tight. Clem knew that Christa was scared to death right now, and even though they had been nothing but bitter to each other, Clem wanted to comfort her.

"I think so..." Christa answered with a nod.

"Good," Clementine said calmly. That was the best thing they could do right now was stay calm. Her little golden eyes then scanned the area quickly, looking for some form of shelter. Christa absolutely could not have her baby in the woods. Clementine wouldn't allow it. "We have to keep walking," she said and pulled Christa along. That's when her contractions started.

Christa let out a scream that she couldn't hold in. She looked down at Clementine, tears forming in her eyes. "Clem...I don't know if..."

"You can do it...you can do it," Clementine tried to assure her friend.

She looked around again, and was surprised to see an abandoned warehouse just a little ways. "I think I see something," she told Christa hurriedly. "Maybe you can have the baby there. You can make it...right?"

"I..." Christa squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She was probably in so much pain. She was trying to breathe in and out carefully as Clementine continued to pull her along.

They walked at a very slow pace, but at least they were moving. The building that Clem spotted was very small, but it would be big enough for them to deliver the baby in safety. When they finally arrived to the small building, Clementine recognized it as some kind of storage shed. She had no idea why a storage shed would be out in the middle of the woods, but she was thankful that it was here.

Clem led Christa inside, making sure that it was free of walkers. Once they were sure, Clementine made Christa lie on the ground, propping her head up with her small purple book bag. "I'm going to look around for stuff," she informed the older woman and began scoping out the place. Much to her luck, she found a few bottles of water and a small blanket. It was dirty, but it would suffice, after all, it was all they had. "Will this work?" Clem asked, holding the few items up to show Christa.

The older woman nodded, then squeezed her eyes shut in pain as another contraction began to start. Clementine knew they didn't have much time now. "What do I do now?" she asked frantically. After all, she was only a nine-year-old girl, how helpful could she be in a situation if she didn't know anything about it?

Since Christa had slowly managed to remove her pants, her next instructions were quite simple. "Stand in front...so I can push."

Clementine nodded quickly and squatted down to look in. What she saw was a little...disturbing, to say it nicely, but she didn't say anything about it. She looked at Christa. "You can do it, Christa! Just push!" Christa immediately obliged, and after only a few seconds, Clementine could see the head. "It's almost out, Christa! The head is coming!" she prodded.

Christa continued to push, beads of sweat pouring from her forehead. After a couple minutes, a very weak cry was heard. Clementine panted and looked at the baby in shock, and then offered Christa a smile. "It's a girl."

"Oh my God..." Christa put a hand to her mouth and began to cry. For the first time since before Omid's death, she smiled. "She looks like Omid."

"What do I do now?" Clem inquired. The baby was still connected to the umbilical cord. How were they going to get it off?

"Look for something sharp," Christa instructed, and Clementine obliged, spotting a piece of glass on the floor. Holding the baby in one hand, she then grabbed the pieces of glass with the other and slowly cut the umbilical cord.

"There," Clementine said as she wrapped the very small baby in the blanket that they found. It was obvious that the baby was premature. Christa wasn't due for another two months at least, but the stress of the apocalypse, and losing Omid had caused her to go into labor early. Clem just hoped that there was nothing wrong with the little baby girl, because she knew Christa wouldn't be able to take another loss.

"Give her to me," Christa ordered and took the baby into her hands. "She's so tiny..." she mused as she looked down at the baby.

Clementine got up and fetched the blanket, a fading white in color. She returned and knelt down, holding it out. Christa took it gratefully and wrapped around the tiny baby, who began to cry a little louder. Christa rocked her gently, shushing her.

"Shh, shh, it's all right," she whispered. "Mommy's got you."

"What are you gonna name her?" Clem inquired softly, sitting on her knees next to the new mother.

Christa looked from Clementine to her baby, then up to the ceiling with a small smile. "I think I'll call her Genevieve. Omid suggested that before..." she trailed off with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "He should be here. He would be so proud right now." She continued to rock the baby, Genevieve, who quieted down.

"I think he's watching us right now, and I bet he's happy," Clementine, a believer in the afterlife (although she wasn't sure about Christa), replied.

"I think so too, Clem," Christa smiled as she rocked Genevieve gently.

**\\\\**

**And that's where we'll end it. Hopefully the next chapter will be out either tomorrow or the next day. And to clarify, this story will probably have about 10 chapters. Please review! :)**


	4. Tragedy Strikes Again

**Thank you to Guest for being the new reviewer!**

**\\\\**

A few days passed by, and things seemed to be going well enough for the two girls. Christa was healing up quite nicely, showing no signs of any sickness or problems at all. Inside the small shed they were staying in, they were safe, and didn't have to worry about walkers getting to the baby. Clementine knew that in a few more days, she, Christa, and baby Genevieve would be able to start traveling again. They couldn't stay in the shed forever, or else they'd run out of supplies.

However, Clementine was beginning to doubt their good luck when baby Genevieve began having problems. She woke up one morning to the sound of Christa's muffled sobs. The little girl sat up to see what was wrong, her heart pumping fast and fearing the worst...

She saw Christa sitting in her usual spot, and she was clutching Genevieve to her chest. "Christa?" Clementine questioned, walking over to the older woman and her baby. When she arrived closer, that's when she could hear how labored and short Genevieve's breaths were. Her eyes began welling up with tears, how could this happen to them again? After everything they had been through?

Clem knew Genevieve was born early, but still, she thought the little baby would make it out of all of this chaos and nonsense. Her heart ached for Christa, but she didn't know what to say to comfort her.

Genevieve's little face was paling, and her eyes were only half open. Clementine could very easily tell that the baby was dying, and there was nothing that she could do. Christa seemed to know what was about to happen too, the way she was crying. She looked up when she saw Clem approach, but didn't say anything. She began to whisper comforting words to her baby.

"What are we gonna do?" Clementine asked softly, a tear escaping from each eye.

"There's...nothing we can do..." Christa barely managed to get out.

"Is she going to be okay?" Clementine asked, her voice breaking. But she already knew the answer to that question. The baby was not going to be okay, she was going to die. And Clem would be very surprised if Genevieve made it through the rest of the night.

"I wish Omid was here..." Christa sobbed as she pressed the baby girl into her neck for comfort. She looked so pale, and Clem wished that she didn't have to watch this sight in front of her right now. If Omid hadn't died, would all of this still would have happened? Would Christa still have given birth early?

Little Genevieve's breathing was gradually getting slower and slower. Christa was right when she said that there was nothing that they could do, Genevieve was just too little. All Clementine wanted to do was shout and scream and cry about all the unfairness around her, but even at nearly ten years old, she was too mature for that. It was actually a little surprising how Genevieve had managed to hold on for as long as she did.

Christa looked down at her dying baby girl, tears streaming down her face. Genevieve looked just like Omid, and it was like she was losing him all over again.

With a half-sob, Christa began to rock the baby and hum a lullaby, but it was a little hard because she was crying. She had a soft, sweet humming voice, which reminded Clem of her mother when she would hum to herself while doing household chores.

Eventually, right as Christa finished her lullaby, Genevieve's raspy breathing stopped altogether, and her eyes closed. The baby, only about four days old, was dead.

"I'm sorry, Christa..." Clementine whispered. Somehow, the little girl felt as though all of this was her fault again. It was as if she was in a downward spiral, only causing more harm than good.

The little girl was consumed in her thoughts, thinking about all the people that she had lost so far, and the memories began to recollect in her head. Almost every death was her fault, and that mere thought terrified her. She was literally a walking death trap, and she felt horrible for everything.

"Can you just give me a minute, Clem?" Christa asked, looking up at Clementine, then back down to Genevieve. Clem nodded and walked away, leaving the older woman with her baby. Deep down, Christa knew that this might have happened when she gave birth, but she just waved it off as a what-if scenario, and now, she had no one. Omid was gone, the baby was gone, and she never felt more alone in her life.

"Fuck!" she yelled in anger, more tears streaming down her face. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" she yelled even louder, clutching the dead baby in her arms. "Goddamn it!"

Clementine flinched at her screams, and she cried too. Everything was falling apart, and she wish Lee, or Omid, or Kenny, or somebody was here to tell her everything was going to be okay, because she knew that nothing was okay anymore, and it might not be ever again.

Clem hugged her knees to her chest and wept softly, wishing desperately that Omid was here. If only she hadn't been so careless and kept her gun with her, then he would still be alive. Genevieve might have still been alive as well, so she blamed herself for that too.

Christa gently placed the dead infant on the cold, concrete floor and took out her gun, only one shot of ammunition left. With shaky hands, she aimed it at Genevieve, looking hesitant. But it was impossible. She dropped the gun and fell to her knees, sobbing. There was no way she was going to kill an undead version of someone that she loved. Not again.

For a moment, Clementine was unsure, but then she got up and slowly walked over, still overwritten with sadness and loss, just as Christa was. "Do you want..."

"NO! You are _not_ touching this gun again, do you understand?" Christa barked harshly.

Clementine flinched. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, Christa."

Christa let a deep sob emerge from her throat. She had to do this, she had to shoot Genevieve. She was not going to let her little sweet innocent baby turn into one of those awful and heartless things. She stood up, and aimed the gun at the baby's head again.

"I'm so sorry Omid..." she whispered to herself mostly. "I never wanted any of this to happen."

Clementine knew she wouldn't be able to watch this. It was too much to handle. "I'm going to go outside for a little bit..." she mumbled, but it's not like Christa noticed anyway. Clementine then slipped outside the storage shed, just in time to hear the gunshot, and Christa's loud sobs afterwards. There was no way the two would be able to work as a team after this...would Christa even be able to go on?

It took ten whole minutes for Christa to emerge from the shed without the baby, her eyes red and puffy. She stood at the doorway and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, gripping the empty-shelled firearm's handle. Clementine knew it was best not to say anything.

"Let's go," Christa muttered, more to herself than to the little girl. Was she telling herself to carry on, despite that she had now lost all that she loved?

Clementine slowly climbed to her feet and began to trudge behind the broken woman, who wrapped her arms around herself as she walked slowly. There was no way that these two were going to be any sort of "team" now. Omid was supposed to be here, and Christa wasn't even supposed to give birth for another month-and-a-half or so. They were supposed to all be surviving and looking forward to the birth of Genevieve.

But no. Happy times weren't how this world worked anymore.

**\\\\**

**Holy hell...that was painful for both of us to write...but review?**


	5. A New Path

**Thanks for the feedback! :)**

**\\\\**

The following several months were long and harsh. It didn't help that the tension between Clementine and Christa had become far worse than before, after losing Genevieve. As if that wasn't bad enough, the first anniversary of Lee's death was fast approaching, and some might say that Clem was starting to heal, but no. It was far from that. Everyone the little girl had loved was still gone, and time wasn't going to do anything to fix that.

Christa continued to give her the cold shoulder, only speaking at all unless she absolutely had to. Most days, Clementine couldn't blame her, as she had gone through a period of almost complete silence herself, but there were times where she had to urge the woman to answer her.

Every day was the same, a long day of traveling with very few rest breaks, and then having to sleep in some sort of makeshift shelter. Although some nights, their search for a shelter was unsuccessful, and they would have to sleep on the uncomfortable forest ground.

The two females didn't have a clue as to where they were going, as they didn't exactly have a destination. It just seemed as if they were roaming all around the state of Georgia. But that all changed one chilly day in early October.

"Christa?" Clementine asked slowly, apprehensively stepping towards the woman, who barely glanced at her. "I...I found some ammo."

But once again, Christa didn't say anything, and Clementine only sighed, looking at the ground.

They walked along for a few more moments, and that's when Clementine spotted a walker on the ground with a piece of paper in its undead hand. "There's something else over there..." The little girl mumbled mostly to herself knowing that Christa wouldn't answer her anyway.

"What is it?" Christa replied quietly which shocked Clem.

"I'm not sure..." Clem answered slowly as she approached the walker. Carefully, she bent down to retrieve the piece of paper and saw that it was a map. Maybe their luck was turning around?

Clementine read the map, realizing that it led to Wellington, Ohio, up near Michigan. On the map was also a sketch drawing of what looked to be a big camp. Was this some kind of safe place? This almost looked too good to be true.

"It's a map to some place called Wellington," Clem explained. "It looks like a big camp."

Christa walked over and took a look at the map. Her expression was unreadable, did she seem to believe what was happening?

"It looks like the real deal," Clementine said, looking over the map again. "We could finally be safe," she added.

"How do we know that this place is actually legit?" Christa asked. She doubted everything these days. Ever since everything happened with Omid and Genevieve, she was skeptical of most things. But what if this place was real? She and Clem would be safe, and they wouldn't have to worry about a thing anymore.

"It wouldn't hurt to check it out..." Clementine shrugged. After all, something was better than nothing. "It's not like we have anywhere else to go," she pointed out.

Christa sighed. "You're right. It will a very long journey, however. It could take us weeks, or even months. Are you up for it?"

This was the most that she had spoken to Clementine since the tragic events all those months ago. But Clementine smiled lightly, and nodded. "I think we can do it," she said. "I'm confident." _Confident_ was a word that Lee had taught her when they once spoke about being positive.

"Good." Christa folded up the map and placed it in her pocket, continuing on.

Clementine followed her, putting one hand in the pocket of her coat and holding her gun - a new one - in the other. Lately, Christa had been hinting in the small sentences that she spoke about teaching the little girl more tactics to survive. Clem hoped they could get to that soon.

"So..." Christa began. "If we walk during the day, and only rest at night, it shouldn't take us that long to get there," she observed, and Clementine was in literal shock at the moment. She couldn't believe that Christa was actually talking to her for this long. She thought that the older woman really and truly hated her and blamed her for everything that had happened in the past.

"That sounds like a good plan," Clementine nodded as they walked.

"Let's just hope winter doesn't come early," Christa concluded, and Clem nodded. In truth, she had totally forgotten about the winter and cold months. The thought of seasons changing had slipped her mind in all of this havoc. But it would get colder, and things would get unbearably harder. She and Christa wouldn't be able to travel as easily as they did now, and they wouldn't be able to stay warm.

"And if it does?" Clementine asked, glancing hesitantly up at the older woman.

"Then we'll either make it or die," the older woman replied cynically, causing Clem to frown. It was apparent that Christa had lost all hope now.

But in all seriousness, Clementine couldn't blame the way she felt. She knew exactly what it was like to lose basically everyone you ever loved. But she couldn't give up just because someone died, dying was part of the new norm and both females had to accept that.

Christa didn't say anything else for the rest of the day, not until they stopped to make camp. It was yet another unsuccessful night in finding shelter, meaning that they had to sleep in the woods. At least it wasn't too cold tonight.

When they were sure that they were secluded from walkers, Christa took out the small bag with medical supplies that they'd managed to find a few days earlier, and looked up at Clementine. "You need to know how to treat yourself in case you're ever hurt."

"Like wrapping up a wound?" Clementine asked, taking advantage of the fact that Christa was even talking right now.

"Kind of, but there's more to it," Christa replied. "You will need to know how to bandage wounds, but do you know what stitches are?" the older woman asked.

Clem nodded, "My dad had to get them before. That's when the doctor sews up your skin, right?" she asked, feeling a little dumb for not having known this already. But Clem was willing to learn, and she was glad Christa was teaching her.

"That's one way to put it," Christa said as she pulled out some stitches and a suture. "Watch closely," she ordered and Clem obliged as she watched the older woman demonstrate the stitching and sewing techniques. "And once you've got the wound closed up, wrap it tightly in bandages. Understand?" she asked.

"I think so," Clem nodded, taking in all this new information.

"Good," Christa responded in an almost robotic tone. "I want you to know this, Clementine, in case anything ever happens to me, and you're on your own. There's more to survival than just shooting a gun." She locked eyes with the little girl, a firm expression on her face, telling the child that she was serious.

"I understand," Clementine answered.

Christa said nothing more and went over to the other side of the burning fire to go to sleep, as Clem would be taking first watch tonight. Clementine hoped that helping each other to survive would be the starting process of healing for both of them, and not just a temporary thing.

The little girl sat on the log and began her watch, hoping that nothing would jump out at them tonight.

**\\\\**

**Review? :)**


	6. Regrouping

**There's probably not too much left now, but hopefully we were able to throw some more stuff in here.**

**\\\\**

The very next day, Clementine was the first one to wake up. Christa seemed to be sleeping soundly, so Clem didn't want to wake her up. The little girl knew that they were burning daylight, but Christa had gone through so much these past four months, Clem thought it would be nice for her to be able to get a little bit of rest. She'd keep watch in the mean time, and make sure no walkers approached.

In this quiet time that she had, Clementine concluded that she didn't like being alone, or just with Christa for that matter. She liked having a bigger group. And it's not that she didn't like Christa, it's just that her relationship with Christa was very strained after everything that the two girls had been through.

Christa didn't automatically trust people to begin with, and these days it wasn't hard to understand why. But Omid would have wanted them to join a group despite all that. He was quick enough to trust Lee when the former first saw Clementine.

Clementine wasn't awake for too long before Christa aroused from her own slumber. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, only looking at the ten-year-old before her ever so briefly before standing up. Her silence told Clementine that it was time to go.

_I hope that it'll be safe once we reach Wellington,_ Clem thought to herself.

It was the same as usual, with Christa leading the way and Clementine not too far behind, as they walked. They heard a noise rustling in the nearby bushes, and Christa immediately pulled out her gun.

"Who's there?" she called out, voice stern and harsh. She heard the rustling sound again, and pointed her gun in that direction. "I have a gun, and I will shoot!" she warned again.

Clementine stayed close by to the older woman. After all, they didn't know what the hell could have been in those bushes, because Clem knew by now that in this kind of world, you had more things to worry about than just walkers.

"Answer me!" Christa demanded, and that was when two men came walking out from the bushes. They looked to be about middle aged, with their gray-brown hair and slight beards. Clementine had immediate distrust for them already. "Keep your hands up," Christa ordered, pointing her gun at the two strangers as they walked into her view.

"Relax, we won't hurt ya," the first man assured, obeying Christa's command. "Promise we won't."

"Who the fuck are you?" Christa shouted, but not too loudly as to attract any unnecessary attention.

"My name's John, and right there is Tristan," the same man replied, nodding towards the other one at the second introduction. He seemed to try to remain calm and collected. "Look, lady, we're just tryin' to survive, like you and your daughter there." He nodded towards Clementine.

"I'm not her mother," Christa replied bitterly.

"What...what do you want?" Clementine called out nervously.

"We're just trying to help some folks out," a man, Tristan, Clem was pretty sure that was who had spoken, said. "We have a group, with food, and supplies," he said, causing Clem's ears to perk up.

"A group?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"One other man, and a lady," John explained. "They're waiting back at our camp."

"You could come with us," Tristan offered. The two guys seemed nice enough, but Clementine still wasn't sure about them. And Christa still had her gun pointed at both of them, so it was obvious that she didn't trust them too much either.

"How the fuck do we know you're not lying?" she questioned harshly. "You could be rapists or murderers for all I know," she retorted, and Clem had never seen this side of Christa before. She seemed mean, and rough around all the edges. But maybe that was the way she had become since all of this tragedy had taken place.

"You have our word, ma'am," John reassured her. "Now if you could just put your gun down, we can take you there. It's only a couple miles back."

Christa looked down at Clementine, then back to the two men. She opened her mouth to speak, but Clementine beat her to that. She didn't entirely trust them either, but it was worth a shot.

"Maybe we could check it out?" Clem suggested. "What if there actually is a camp? We're going to be out of supplies soon."

Christa nodded, "We'll come," she said to the two men. "But no tricks. I still have my gun."

"Everything is safe lady, don't worry," Tristan said with a small grin, but Christa only glared on.

"Lead the way," she said, gesturing her hand forward. The newly formed group then began walking along another dirt trail. Christa and Clementine kept their distance from Tristan and John, but they were close enough so that they were following them. And Christa still had her gun ready, just in case these two strangers would think of trying something.

"We never got your names," John called out as they walked in silence for a few moments.

"What?" Christa asked.

"Your names?" John questioned.

"Christa," the older woman said plainly. "And that's Clementine."

"Christa and Clementine," Tristan repeated, as if he were getting them in his head. Clementine couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by this man. Whether it be his deep, scratchy voice or the fact that he reminded her somewhat of the stranger, she didn't know. She couldn't tell.

"Nice to meet ya," John spoke up in a seemingly over-friendly voice. "It'll be nice to see some more survivors at our camp with us."

Clementine could only hope that these people were telling the truth. Over the past year, she learned that some people were just not trustworthy. Like the St. Johns, who turned out to be cannibalistic killers, and the stranger, who lied by telling her that he had her parents so he could kidnap her.

"So, this 'camp' of yours..." Christa trailed off, still feeling untrustworthy. "Is it well-guarded?"

"We take turns keeping watch, if that's what ya mean," John answered. "But it's usually pretty safe."

"We don't see many walkers around here," Tristan commented.

"Trust me," John started. "Once you see our camp, you'll want to stay there."

"We'll see," Christa replied bitterly.

"Have you guys ever heard of a place called Wellington?" Clementine asked, her voice a little quiet because she was a little scared of the two men leading them.

"Wellington?" John asked. "I can't say I have."

"That's where we were going," Clem replied. "It's supposed to be a big camp."

"And where is this_ Wellington_ that you speak of?" Tristan inquired, rubbing his hands together to keep them warm.

"Ohio, I think. Up near Michigan?"

"Clem, that's enough!" Christa scolded in a whisper.

Before they knew it, the four reached what used to be an old dump. There were piles of garbage off to once side, and a small building off to another. Tristan opened the chain-fenced gate, leading the females and the male inside.

A woman with dark blonde hair emerged from the building, followed by a younger-looking man.

"Who are these people?" the woman inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Abilene, this is Christa and Clementine," John introduced. "Ladies, this is Abilene, and over there is Dalton."

"John, what did I tell you about bringing people back here?" Abilene asked, looking over at the middle aged man.

"They looked like they needed help!" he answered in defense.

"Don't worry," Christa jumped in. "We won't be here long."

"Good," Abilene replied. Was she the leader of this small group?

Clementine wasn't sure what to think of these new people. Abilene didn't seem too nice, so she'd probably stay away from her, and Dalton hadn't really spoken or even looked at Clementine for some odd reason. Clem thought that was weird.

"Are you guys hungry?" Tristan asked.

"You have food?" Clementine asked incredulously.

"We said that, didn't we?" John offered her a small smile. He went into the little building and came out with two cans of food, corn to be exact, and handed one each to Clem and Christa.

"Thank you," Christa found herself saying.

Abilene made a "hmph" noise and stomped back inside. For some reason, Clementine was slightly reminded of Lilly and the way she would "dictate" their old group. Only Lilly seemed to be a bit more...mature.

Christa glared after her for a moment, then turned down to her can of corn.

"So what do you think of this place?" Clementine asked the older woman as they ate.

"It's okay," Christa said with a small nod. "But you need to keep your eyes out for anything weird."

"Got it," Clem nodded.

**\\\\**

**Review, please? :)**


	7. Camp

Both Clementine and Christa ate half of the can's contents, deciding to save the rest for later. Tristan approached the two females just as they were finishing up. Clementine scooted a little closer to Christa just in case he were to try something. He seemed nice, but she wasn't going to try her luck.

"You alright, ladies?" he inquired.

"We're fine, thanks," Christa replied, giving him a curt nod.

"You want me to show you around the camp?" he offered. "We've got lots of space here if you want to stay."

Christa shook her head, "We probably won't be here that long," she said. "Plus, that Abilene girl doesn't seem to like us too much."

"Abilene?" Tristan let out a little laugh. "Don't worry about her. She and John argue all the time." He replied, and Clem couldn't help but to let out a sigh. It reminded her of Lilly and Kenny, who were now gone forever.

"I still don't want to piss her off," Christa said.

"She's been through a lot, but trust me, she wouldn't hurt a fly," Tristan explained.

"You mean to tell me that you couldn't fine anything _else?"_ Abilene was heard screaming. "Damn it, John, we can't rescue every damn refugee you guys come across!"

Nobody could hear what John was saying in reply, he was speaking too lowly. Tristan chuckled lightly and shook his head.

"See what I mean?" he confirmed.

Dalton was leaning against a wall, lighting a cigarette that he'd possibly found. He blew out a cloud of smoke as he watched intently.

"What about him?" Clementine asked, glancing at Dalton.

Tristan shrugged, "He doesn't talk much, but he's not dangerous. John and I rescued him from a horde of walkers when this all started, and he's been with us ever since." He finished about the young man.

Just then, John walked over. "Abilene's pissed, but y'all are welcome to stay here."

"Why would we want to stay if she's mad?" Clementine asked looking up at the adults.

John chuckled, "She can't stay mad forever."

"Plus, you guys might be useful to the group," Tristan chimed in. "Then she'll probably like you... Hell, I don't know, maybe not. Abilene is complicated."

"You should try talking to her Clem, to get her to calm down. She has a soft spot for kids," John said.

"Me?" Clem asked, her golden eyes going wide.

"Yeah, go ahead. She don't bite," John laughed.

"Umm...okay, then," Clementine got up nervously. She turned back around to Christa, who reluctantly nodded once. When that was given, she walked to the building, coughing as cigarette smoke blew in her face. Her parents never smoked.

Clementine went up the few steps and knocked on the door. She stepped back, not really knowing what to expect.

"Come in," Abilene's strained voice was heard through the door.

Clem slowly opened the door and turned to the woman, whose back was turned towards her. She was currently making a weapon out of a stick, turning it into something sharp. For some odd reason, it fascinated Clementine.

"Um...excuse me?" Clementine was a little shocked at how small her voice sounded at the moment.

Abilene turned around briefly, her eyebrows raised slightly, before turning back around and resuming her task. "What do you want, kid?"

"John said I should talk to you," Clem replied.

"John's an idiot..." she grumbled, as she continued sharpening her stick.

"What are you making?" Clementine asked as she walked closer to Abilene, to observe what she was doing.

"A spear," Abilene answered.

"Cool," Clementine said as she watched the older woman sharpen the stick until it was in a very fine point. Clem wished that Lee would have taught her some stuff like this before he got bitten. It would have come in handy to Clementine. Abilene stayed silent, only focused on her task at hand. "I'm sorry we came to your camp," Clem apologized. "We didn't want to come, but John said it would be okay. We didn't want to make you angry."

"Knowin' John, always has to be a helping hand," Abilene grumbled more to herself than to Clementine. "Always insists on it."

Sometimes Clem wondered why people turned against each other instead of working together to survive. But that question never popped in her head for longer than a few minutes, because she always seemed to have different answers. Bickering, cold-blooded murder, etc.

Both of those had occurred plenty of times in her old group.

"Do you deal with them much?" Clementine inquired.

Abilene glanced behind her with a confused expression. "What?"

"Walkers," Clem responded. "Do they come around much?"

"Hell, more than I'd like to see," Abilene muttered.

"Me too," Clem nodded in agreement.

"How old are you, Clementine?" Abilene inquired.

"I'm almost eleven," the little girl answered.

"And it's just been you and Christa?"

Clementine shook her head. "No, we came from a really big group. But they all died."

"And your parents?" Abilene asked, and Clem frowned. She still didn't like talking about her parents, or Lee for that matter. It still hurt a little bit. "Aw hell, I'm sorry kid. I shoulda figured."

"It's okay," Clementine waved off.

Abilene put the spear down. "Listen, I'm sorry I got kinda mouthy out there. It's hard to trust people these days."

"Yeah, it really is," Clem agreed, crossing her arms and looking down. "Christa knows that for sure."

Abilene looked out the window at Christa, who was talking to John (Tristan had left). "Seems like y'all have been through so much. I can definitely relate to that. I lost my mother and brother during the first days. My father died before all this." She looked sadly at the ground.

"I'm sorry," Clem told her.

"Don't worry about it."

"Thank you for letting us stay," Clementine thanked. "Christa's been through so much lately, and I think being with a group will do her some good," the little girl explained.

"We've all been through stuff," Abilene replied. "None of us can help that."

"Clementine?" It was Christa's voice that was heard as the older woman came into the room with Abilene and Clem. "Is everything okay? You've been gone for a while."

"Everything's fine," Clementine answered with a nod.

"We were just talkin'," Abilene added. "Sorry, I shouldn't have been so rude when y'all came in with Tristan and John. Personal experience."

"Don't I know it," Christa muttered.

"So, word has it that you two are headed for Wellington. Mighty cold up there, I heard."

"I think we can do it," Clementine told her.

"You're one tough little girl then," Abilene commented. "But you're welcome to stay here until you decided to be back on your way."

"Thank you," Christa nodded. "Clem and I will try to be as much of a help as we can."

"It's nice to finally have some other girls around here," Abilene said with a small smile. "I don't think I can take much more of John or Tristan."

Clementine couldn't help but smile, which was extremely rare nowadays. Abilene and her group didn't seem to be so bad after all. After all, her mother had once told her, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Was this what she had meant?

The door opened up, and in walked Dalton. He placed his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket and turned towards Abilene.

"My night for late watch shift?" he inquired.

"Think so," Abilene responded nonchalantly. She walked over and grabbed a T/C Precision hunting rifle, handing it to him.

"Thanks," Dalton said, giving a curt nod to Christa and Clementine before heading out.

"We have a few extra beds," Abilene said. "Let me show you where you'll be sleeping." The blonde woman then headed out of the small room that belonged to her and led Clem and Christa to a small makeshift shelter.

Clementine noticed that the camp wasn't that big, but at least it was fenced in. She saw Dalton sitting at the fence opening, rifle in hand.

"It ain't much," Abilene said, pointing to the two cot beds under the makeshift shelter. "But at least it's warm and dry."

"Thanks again," Christa said.

"John and Tristan are over there if you need them for anything," she pointed over to a different shed like building. "And I'll be in my room."

"Goodnight, Abilene," Clementine said before climbing onto the cot bed.

Abilene gave the little girl a small smile before heading out for the night. Cot beds were better than no beds, and both Christa and Clementine could agree on that. Both females hoped that this new group would be a successful turn of events, and Clem was hoping that there would finally be teamwork.

**\\\\**

**Review?**


	8. Missing Member

So far, so good.

Those were Clementine's thoughts about staying at Abilene's camp. It had been almost a week, and she and Christa fit in great there. They were able to help go out and find more supplies, and keep the camp more secure. And they were also beginning to trust John, Tristan, Dalton, and Abilene more.

Clementine liked Abilene. It was nice to have an older companion while she was staying at this camp. Christa was still being somewhat hostile to the little girl, but that was to be expected. Clementine knew that Christa still blamed her for everything.

At least Christa was speaking to her at all.

"Clem, can you take these bottles of water to John?" Abilene asked, handing the said objects to Clementine. She had now began to trust her enough to call her by her affectionate nickname. "We're still trying to stock up."

Clementine nodded and accepted the bottles, heading out of the small building. On the way to where John was, she passed Christa sitting on a log in front of a built fire, looking solemn.

"Christa, are you okay?" Clementine wanted to know. She was still concerned for the older woman.

Christa glanced up at her, before turning back to the fire with a sigh. "I'm fine, Clem. Just...can I please be alone?"

The little girl nodded and obliged her wishes. Christa deserved time alone to think without anyone bugging her. Clementine made it over to John and approached him with the water bottles.

"Abilene wanted me to give these to you," she said.

"Why thank you little lady," John replied with a small smile. "See?" he added. "I told you y'all would like it here."

Clem nodded, "It is nice being in a group again."

"I can't say your friend feels the same," John said, looking over at Christa who was still sitting in front of the fire.

"She's been through so much, but trust me, she does like it here," Clementine replied.

"If you say so," John shrugged. "You better head back to Abilene now. She might need you for something else," he added, and Clem obliged, making her way back to the older woman quickly. After all, if she needed something, Clem didn't want to keep her waiting.

"So, you're trying to stock up for the winter?" Clementine repeated Abilene's words from earlier.

"Yup. Around here it can get pretty damn cold, 'specially at night," Abilene responded. She looked out the small window at Christa, and frowned in concern. "So...is Christa gonna be okay? You two must've gone through a hell of a rough time."

"We have," Clem agreed solemnly. She looked up at Abilene and decided to try and change the subject before it got too personal. "So, is there anything else you need done?"

"Nah, I can take it from here," Abilene answered with a smile. "Thanks, Clementine."

Clementine walked away, now unsure of what she should do with herself. She could go talk to Christa and try to cheer the older woman up, but deep down she had the feeling that Christa didn't want to be bothered.

John was still stocking items, and Dalton or Tristan were nowhere to be found. Deciding that she had been a lot of help today, Clementine thought it would be okay for her to rest for a few moments.

She went to her cot and laid down, noticing that it was almost night time.

A gunshot, then two, abruptly aroused Clementine from her slumber. She looked out the small window and saw that it was dark out now, so she probably hadn't been asleep for very long. What was going on?

As if on cue, Christa entered their "room" and reached into her bag, getting out her Glock 17.

"Christa?" Clem asked, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?"

"There's a small horde of walkers outside," Christa explained. She gave the little girl somewhat of a firm look. "Stay in here."

"But-"

"Stay in here!"

Clementine sighed, but obliged as she watched Christa exit their small room, firearm in hand. She got up from her cot and looked out the window. Christa turned out to be right, as about fifteen walkers were roaming around. Dalton, Tristan, and Christa were bringing them down, but where were John and Abilene?

She watched as one by one the walkers began to fall, but she didn't like sitting back and watching. Clem knew that she had to be out there just in case something happened. She wanted to follow Christa's rules, but then again, she didn't.

Clem knew Christa would be even more angry with her if she went out there even though Christa told her to stay inside. So Clem decided to stay, watching all the action from the windows hoping nothing would happen to Christa or any of the other group members for that matter.

But still, John and Abilene were nowhere to be found. Where could they have gone?

She was a little worried about them, especially Abilene, whom she had just begun to form a friendship with. The door opened and in walked Christa, a slightly upset look crossing her already broken features as she leaned against the now-closed door.

"Where are...where are John and Abilene?" Clementine asked softly, fearing the worst.

Christa squeezed her dark eyes shut for a moment. "Abilene's in her room, she's fine. But John...we can't find him."

"What?" Clementine asked, surprised. "Why? Did he run off somewhere? Is he hiding?"

"I don't _know,_ okay?" Christa replied a little fiercely. But then her tone softened. "Dalton volunteered to go look for him while Tristan takes night watch tonight."

"Is that safe?" Clementine asked.

"Safe as we can get I suppose," she answered. "But you don't have to worry about that, you just need to get back to sleep, okay?" the older woman said, causing Clementine to nod.

"Okay," Clementine obliged, but she knew that she was too wound up to go back to sleep now. And she was worried about the rest of the group. What if something happened to Dalton while he was out looking for John?

"Goodnight, Clem," Christa said as she got back into bed.

"Night," Clementine replied.

She decided to wait until she was sure that Christa was asleep, and when she heard soft breathing, she got up out of her cot and slowly yet quietly made her way outside. It was a little colder than what she expected, so she closed the door so that the chilly night air wouldn't wake Christa up.

Tristan was sitting in a lawn chair by the fence, rifle in his hands. He was smoking a cigarette. Clementine approached him nervously, although unsure at first because he still intimidated her a bit, but not nearly as much as before.

"Um...hi, Tristan," Clementine greeted, taking notice at how small her voice sounded.

Tristan whipped around, but relief washed over him when he saw that it was only Clem. "Oh. Hi, kid. Why ain't you asleep?"

"I'm...I'm worried about John and Dalton," Clementine admitted, rubbing her hand on her other arm, looking at the frosty ground. "Do you think they'll be okay?"

"Hey, they're tough, I'm sure they'll be fine," Tristan grinned. "John's been in this kind of mess one other time, and he was fine before."

"Oh," was all Clementine could say. She couldn't shake the feeling in the back of her mind.

She decided that Tristan wasn't being much of a help, so the little girl walked over to Abilene's room to see if she was still awake.

"Abilene?" Clementine knocked on the door quietly, being careful not to wake Christa up. She was surprised when the door opened and she saw Abilene looking down at her. "I'm glad you're awake," Clem whispered.

"Do you know how late it is?" Abilene questioned. "Get in here, it's freezing!" She pulled the smaller girl inside the room and shut her door.

Abilene sat down on her cot bed and patted the spot next to her. Clementine gratefully accepted and sat down.

"Are you okay?" Abilene asked softly. "Those walkers didn't worry you too much, did they?"

"Where did..." Clementine sighed, momentarily unsure if she wanted to continue. "Where did John run off to? Christa told me that Dalton went to find him. Is it safe for him to be alone this late at night?"

Abilene looked down, unsettled. "I don't know," she replied. "All he said was that he was going to take cover somewhere, and he just...I don't know. He's stubborn as hell, doesn't listen much to what others say."

This reminded Clementine of Kenny. Whenever Lee disagreed with him, he would go off at the slightest things and not listen to anybody.

"I hope they'll be okay," said Clementine.

"I hope so, too, Clem."

**\\\\**

**Review, please? :)**


	9. Betrayal

The entire night passed, but neither Dalton nor John had returned yet, and Clementine was getting worried.

She remained seated on Abilene's cot, watching as the older woman continued to work on her spear. But she actually had a strained, worried look in her gray eyes, clearly wondering about the two men herself. She muttered some incoherent words that Clementine couldn't hear.

"Tristan said that John was in this kind of mess once before," Clem pointed out. "Was he gone this long last time?"

Abilene put her spear down and sighed. "Not nearly this long, maybe a few hours at the most," she replied. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "God...what has that asshole gotten himself into now? And Dalton...I just don't know."

"What if they don't come back?" Clementine asked, a little worried.

Abilene sighed again. "We'll have to go look for them. Hell, I don't know, Clem." The woman was frustrated and Clementine could clearly tell. It seemed as if things always seemed to go awry just when they were beginning to get good.

"I'll help," Clem replied determinedly. Even though she didn't know John or Dalton that well, she still didn't want two more innocent survivors to die.

Abilene smiled. "You sure have been a lot of help since you started staying with us."

"I like to help," Clem shrugged.

"I know," Abilene nodded. "So if we go looking for them, I'll let you know."

"Okay," Clementine responded. "Do you mind if I go and check on Christa?"

"I don't mind," said Abilene.

Clementine stood up and exited Abilene's room, greeted by the cold morning air. She rubbed her arms to try and get warm, and a thin green jacket didn't do much help to keep her warm. Tristan was still on watch, clutching his rifle, but Clementine decided not to talk to him right now.

The little girl opened the door quietly just in case Christa was still asleep, but she saw the older woman standing at the window.

"Christa, are you okay?" Clem inquired.

"They haven't come back yet, have they?" Christa deadpanned.

"Umm...not yet." Clementine somehow knew that Christa still didn't fully trust these people, with the exception of maybe Abilene.

"Clementine, there's something wrong with these people," Christa deadpanned. "I don't trust these people and we never should have come here." She was beginning to get angry.

"We could leave now..." Clem suggested, even though she didn't want to go. And she really didn't want to leave Abilene. But Clementine knew if Christa wanted to leave then they both had to leave because they were a team.

Christa shook her head. "We can't leave. We're in too deep now. We don't need them to be angry with us."

"John and Dalton _will_ come back," Clementine almost pleaded. "Maybe they found each other and got lost. Christa, please. A group is good for us!"

"That's what you think," Christa very nearly hissed. "I still don't believe in strength in numbers. Not then, and not now. And _you shouldn't either."_

Clementine had a pained expression on her face, remembering her words on the day they had met, a year ago now. But she didn't say anything in reply, she only sighed and looked down, clasping her hands together.

"Clementine, you have to understand me when I tell you this," Christa continued. "The world has gone to shit and we both know that. And people...people change. Maybe these people used to be trustworthy, but something has changed them. And it might not just be this hell on Earth we live in now."

"Not all people are like that though," Clementine barely managed to get out. The little girl didn't like arguing with Christa, but by now it was inevitable. She and Christa were too different, and had gone through and seen too much together. And Clem knew that she was starting to grow a backbone, she knew she wasn't the same little girl anymore; not since Lee died at least.

"Don't be naïve, Clementine!" Christa yelled, causing the little girl to cringe. "Not everybody is a good person who wants to help you! Not everybody is Lee!" She finished, making tears well in Clementine's golden eyes.

"I...know that," the little girl whispered, begging herself not to cry.

"Just...leave me alone for a bit, Clementine, I need to think," Christa ordered.

"O...Okay," Clementine whispered, seeing herself out of their room. She had to breathe deeply to calm herself down, she couldn't cry in front of these people who were still somewhat classified as strangers. But she hated that Christa had to talk about Lee. It still hurt to even say his name sometimes.

The sound of Tristan standing up quickly caught Clementine's attention. The older man began pointing his rifle in every direction.

"Alright, motherfuckers, come on out!" he challenged. "I know that y'all ain't walkers!"

Clementine ran over to Tristan and stood next to him. He towered over her and was much older, so she didn't know if he would take her seriously. But regardless, she had to try and stop him from making too much noise.

"Tristan, you're going to attract them!" she pleaded. "Someone might hear us!"

"Somebody's after us, Clem," Tristan replied lowly, squinting his eyes and continuing to point his rifle around. "I can just tell."

"But-"

"Shh!" Tristan held his index finger up, looking all around. He looked down at Clementine. "Go on and see Abilene, you'll be safe with her. Tell her what's goin' on. Go!" he ordered. Clementine immediately turned around and bolted towards Abilene's room, knocking on her door.

"Abilene!" she yelled before the older woman opened the door.

"Clem, what is it? Is Christa okay?" Abilene asked, looking around outside.

"She's fine," Clem waved off. "But Tristan said someone is after us!" the little girl continued on quickly. "He told me I'd be safe with you," she finished before Abilene hurriedly pulled her into her room.

"Did you see what was after us?" Abilene asked.

Clem shook her head, "Tristan just said that they weren't walkers."

"Shit..." Abilene mumbled.

She quickly walked over and pulled out a revolver, turning to Clementine and holding it out. "Please tell me that someone has taught you how to shoot. You might be only a kid, but...it's crucial for anybody nowadays."

Clementine nodded rapidly. "My friend Lee," she replied, nearly forgetting what Christa had just said to her.

"Good. We should stay in here for now, but if something goes to shit outside, then we'll need to be involved." Abilene picked up her (now-complete) spear, holding it tightly as she looked out the window.

A part of Clementine was worried about Christa, and if she would be okay. But the other part of her just really wanted to know what the hell was going on. She figured Christa would be okay, after all, the older woman knew how to protect herself and whatnot.

To say she was scared was an understatement though. "You see anything yet?" she asked Abilene who was busy taking peeks and glances out the window.

"Not yet-" the woman started to answer. "Wait a second... Is that John?" she asked incredulously. "And Dalton?" Clementine didn't believe her, so of course she had to look out the window herself, and she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw John, Dalton, and a few other unrecognizable people holding Christa and Tristan at gunpoint.

"Those fucking traitors!" Abilene yelled.

"We have to help Tristan and Christa!" Clementine cried, taking out the gun given to her.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Abilene screamed. "I _knew_ that they were onto something!" She took her spear and another firearm and started towards the door, but paused and looked back at Clementine. "Come on. Stay behind me, and follow my lead."

Clem nodded and loaded her gun, quietly sneaking out behind Abilene and wondered what she was going to do.

**\\\\**

**Review, please? :)**


	10. The Shootout

**So this will probably be longer than ten chapters, but oh well. XD**

**\\\\**

Quickly and quietly, Abilene snuck out her bedroom door with Clementine tailing behind her. They didn't want John or Dalton to notice them as they silently approached.

But only one thing was going through Clem's mind: Were Christa and Tristan safe? Had they already made their escape to safety, or were they just hiding out from these so called bandits? Clem hoped that it wasn't the latter of the two.

"What's your plan?" Clementine whispered to Abilene as they hid behind a rather large pile of garbage. The older woman seemed to be thinking hard, that was clear.

"One of us needs to distract them," Abilene decided. "Here's what I'll do. I'll sneak up on one of their people and kill them if I have to with my spear. You run over behind that tree..." she pointed at a large tree that would cover Clementine's small frame completely, "...and wait for me. If you see Christa or Tristan, you just stay where you are. Don't move for any reason, you hear me?"

"But what about you?" Clem couldn't help but inquire. "What if they kill you?"

"Don't worry about me, Clem. I can handle myself pretty well. Just please follow my instructions," Abilene replied.

Clementine nodded reluctantly. "Okay."

"You ready?" Abilene asked, looking down at the little girl.

Clementine nodded. "I think so."

"Alright," Abilene said. "Let's go." She then took off running out in front of John and Dalton, distracting them so Clementine could run and hide behind the tree. "John! Dalton!" Abilene yelled once she was standing out in front of them.

Clementine took that as her cue to run and hide behind the tree. She was extremely scared at the moment, and a part of her was trying to look to see where Christa was at. She wanted the older woman to be okay, and she wanted Abilene to be okay too.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" Abilene yelled to John and Dalton. Clementine wondered the same thing too. Why were they turning on a group that was so good to them? This situation honestly made her think of Ben, but he was just a kid, and he didn't know any better. John and Dalton were two perfectly capable adults. Maybe Christa was right about these people...

But neither man replied, just continued to fire shots. Clementine's golden eyes darted around in search for Christa, but she was nowhere to be found. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she suddenly heard gunshots from all around. There was nowhere else to hide, and the little girl had no other choice than to be right out in the open, completely defenseless.

Clem let out a shriek as a bullet whizzed past her. She knew that she would be shot if she stayed where she was. She thought about climbing the tree, albeit she wasn't that physically strong.

"You might as well give up now!" an unfamiliar male's voice screamed out. "There's more of us than you!"

"Fuck you!" Abilene hollered.

Clementine knew things were about to end up badly, and it only confirmed her thoughts when Abilene began firing bullets left and right, shooting a few of the bandits in the legs. "Dammit!" one of them yelled out.

Out of the corner of her eye, Clem saw someone coming up behind her, and she was a little bit relieved when she saw it was Christa, yielding a pistol in her dominant hand. Clem was glad that she hadn't run off to save herself. Where was Tristan though?

"Christa!" Clem yelled out.

"Stay down, Clem!" the older woman ordered. But Clementine honestly didn't know where to hide. It was an all out shootout now between the two groups, and everything was exposed in the open.

"Where's Tristan?" Clementine whispered.

"Somewhere around here," Christa responded, pointing her firearm all around. "I just want to know what the _fuck_ is going on." A bullet whizzed by her head, barely missing her. Clementine's heart pounded, and she clenched her small fists.

Just when they thought things couldn't get worse, loud groaning noises could be heard from a corner. Christa only shot a couple of the walkers down with her pistol, since she didn't want to waste any more ammunition than necessary. John was still shooting all around and yelling, not even realizing his coming fate. Clementine gasped in shock as a walker grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back, chomping into his neck.

John began to scream in agony, trying to pull the walker off of him. Dalton quickly shot the walker and bolted in the other direction of the woods.

He didn't get too far, however, because Christa aimed her pistol and shot him in the back, sending him down. He scrambled up and continued running, but more slowly now. Dalton and John were both goners, it seemed like.

Clementine heard walker groans a little closer to her now, and she turned. Two of them were heading straight for Abilene.

Without thinking, Clem immediately screamed out: "ABILENE, WATCH OUT!"

Abilene heard her warning and whipped around. Jumping back, she shot both of the walkers right before they could get to her.

Clementine sighed in relief, thankful that nothing had happened to Abilene. "Thanks, Clem," Abilene said to the little girl.

"Is everyone okay?" Tristan asked as he came out from nowhere.

"I think so," Christa nodded. "But what the fuck was that?" she asked, confused.

"Hell if I know," Tristan grumbled. "They were with us for so long, and they betrayed us like this? I can't fuckin' believe it."

Abilene pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, leaning against the tree. "I always knew that something was up with Dalton, ever since I joined this group. But John? I want to know if Dalton put him in this."

"This place isn't safe," Christa announced, maybe a little more firmly than intended. "It's too dangerous. We were almost killed just now!"

"Christa!" Clementine said a little harshly. "These people took us in, gave us food and a place to sleep...we owe them," the little girl finished.

"Not our lives!" Christa yelled in reply. "We need to get out of here, Clementine. We're better off on our own." But Clementine knew that that was not the case. She and Christa were hopeless as a group with no communication or respect between the two. She knew Christa was the adult though, so she'd have to listen to the older woman either way.

"No," Clementine shook her head. "I want to stay with Abilene and Tristan, or they can come with us."

Christa tried to speak, but Clementine continued. "Christa, we barely survived when it was just the two of us. We're all we've got left! We've done better this entire week than we have since..." She was silent, almost afraid to even mention Omid or Genevieve by name. Clementine sighed. "The least we can do is at least let them stay with us, and be grateful for what they've done." By this point the ten-year-old was nearly begging.

There was a very reluctant look on Christa's face, like she still didn't want Abilene or Tristan near them, but eventually she came up with her decision.

"Fine, have it your way," Christa almost spat.

"I think we should leave," Tristan decided. "I think Christa has a point, it ain't safe here. What do you think, Abilene? It's up to you."

Abilene nodded, "I think we should go."

**\\\\**

**Review?**


	11. Apologies

From that point on, Clementine, Christa, Abilene, and Tristan were back on the road. Clementine suggested that they go with her and Christa's original plan, and try to make it to Wellington. It was easy, because they had a map, and Tristan knew the surrounding area. But it was hard as well, because supplies were running low, more walkers kept showing up, and Christa still had trust issues.

After being attacked, she wanted herself and Clem to travel alone. She didn't want Abilene and Tristan to tag along, no matter how fond Clem was of them. Christa didn't like them, it was apparent on how she didn't speak to them, how she didn't look at them...it was also still apparent that she still blamed Clementine for everything. She had pent up hate inside of her, and Clem could easily see this.

"Has she always been like this?" Abilene whispered to Clementine as they walked on a lone road to Wellington. Christa was leading, with Tristan behind, and Clem and Abilene trailing behind them.

Clementine shook her head, "Not this bad," she answered. The little girl did feel sort of guilty though, for choosing Abilene's side over Christa's. After all, she and Christa had been together longer, and Clem had only known Abilene for a little less than two weeks. Clementine wasn't dumb though, and she knew that if Lee or Omid were still here, they would want to help Abilene and Tristan. They would never leave anyone behind.

"What happened?" Abilene asked. "I can tell she wasn't like that before."

Clem sighed, "We were in a big group before, and after they all died, it was just me, Christa, and her boyfriend Omid. Christa was pregnant..." And that was all Clementine had to say before Abilene's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh my God..." she whispered in realization.

"Yeah..." Clementine said solemnly.

"That's awful...I couldn't imagine," Abilene lowered her head in sadness.

"Hey guys, I think there's a river up ahead," Tristan pointed out. "We can fill up these bottles of water and have a little hydration in us for a little while, how's that sound?"

"That's a good idea," Clementine nodded, happy to get off the subject of Christa's past.

Although no one could see, Christa rolled her eyes up front and adjusted her small bag of what little supplies they had. The group of four reached the river in no time flat, and Tristan handed a bottle each to Abilene, Clementine, and Christa, and had one for himself.

Clementine walked a small ways to fill up her bottle, but as she knelt down, she couldn't help but notice her reflection in the water. She was beginning to look older now, her youthful innocence burnt to a crisp before her very eyes. Her golden eyes seemed to be a bit void of life, though not nearly as bad as Christa's. She sighed as she screwed the bottle cap tightly, standing up.

"I'm ready," she announced to Tristan.

Tristan nodded and smiled at her. "Alright, let's wait for Abilene and Christa."

Once everyone had their water bottles filled to the brim, they were ready to go, glad that they had water to last them for a while now. "Which way now?" Abilene asked, particularly towards Tristan since he knew the area well. Clementine knew that they were still pretty far away from reaching Wellington, so they had a while to go.

Tristan pointed to a somewhat hidden trail up ahead, "We go north," he answered, and the group began walking that way. It would be getting dark soon however, and Clem knew that they'd have to make camp. Traveling at night was never the best option.

"I think we should stop and rest for the night," Clem suggested. "Is there a shelter anywhere?"

Abilene scanned around as they continued to walk. "There's an old campsite over there, I guess we could spend the night in that area," the blonde woman suggested.

"Fine," Christa nearly spat, although everyone else didn't pay her much attention.

The small group walked over to the small campsite, with a couple of ripped tents, and burnt logs. Tristan announced that he would look for some firewood (since the logs probably wouldn't do any good) while the three females sat around to watch over their makeshift shelter.

"I hope we get to Wellington soon," Clementine commented, trying to make some conversation between the three so it wouldn't be so awkward. "It's going to start getting cold out..." she trailed off, seeing that her attempt at conversation wasn't working very well.

"We still have a long way to go, Clementine," Christa said, her voice even.

"I think we can do it though..." Clementine replied, her voice a little quiet. Why was Christa still being so hostile after all this time? Why couldn't she just learn to let things go? Her head perked up though, seeing that Tristan had returned with a few small logs for a fire. At least they wouldn't freeze to death tonight.

"This was all I could find," he said sheepishly as he laid the logs down on the fire pit.

"Good enough," Abilene shrugged. "It'll work for tonight."

"Who's gonna keep watch?" Clementine asked, looking around at the three adults.

"Should we play rock, paper, scissors for it?" Tristan inquired in a teasing voice.

When no one was looking, Christa glowered at nothing in particular. Omid would've said something similar had he been here.

"Stop it," Abilene couldn't help but laugh.

"I can do it," Clementine offered.

"Clem, come on now, you shouldn't have to," Abilene turned to look at the child. "I'll do it, okay?"

Clementine opened her mouth to protest that Abilene needed sleep, but decided that arguing wasn't a very good idea. It was settled then, Abilene would take the night shift for tonight. In a way though, it was a good thing because Christa needed to rest. Even after many months, Clementine knew that she would lie awake thinking about Omid, Genevieve, and possibly more. It was too painfully obvious.

"Goodnight," Christa spoke simply as she went into one of many of the torn tents. Clementine contemplated going to talk to her, but she knew that the older woman would just wave her off, and tell her that she wanted to be alone. Plus, what would they talk about? It's not like Clem could comfort Christa in anyway, not when she blamed Clementine for everything.

"You should go to bed too Clem," Abilene said, pulling the small girl out of her thoughts.

"Okay," Clem nodded. "Night, guys." She then headed into one of the tents as well, thankful that there was an actual sleeping bag inside of it. Maybe her luck was turning around? She then snuggled up inside of it, and closed her eyes.

However, no sleep would come. She found herself thinking about everything and nothing at the same time, and she knew that sleep tonight would be hard to come by.

Clem listened to the crackling fire just outside her tent as she tried to process her thoughts. If Omid were here, how different would things be? Would they still have met up with John and Tristan? The answer was indefinite and always would be. Clementine tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, still unable to sleep. There was just too much on her mind.

Eventually, the little girl gave up on trying to sleep and decided to head outside for some fresh air. Abilene was sitting on a log by the fire, holding a rifle just in case any walkers - or even suspicious people - were to come by them. Clementine didn't know why, but she felt like talking to someone.

"Hey, Abilene," Clem greeted, taking a seat by the older woman.

Abilene frowned. "What are you still doing up, Clem?"

Clementine shrugged and warmed her hands by the fire.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Abilene asked with a small smile.

Clem smiled in return, "I can't sleep," she admitted.

"That happens to me a lot." Abilene replied. "Anything in particular troubling you?"

Clementine shook her head, "I'm just thinking, that's all." She then paused. "If you want to go to sleep I can keep watch. I have a feeling I'm going to be up for a while," she offered to the older woman. No doubt Abilene looked exhausted.

"Are you sure, Clementine?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," the little girl responded, rubbing her arms.

"Alright. I'll see you in the morning, then. But don't hesitate to wake me up if you need anything," Abilene patted Clem's shoulder before getting up. Clem watched as she disappeared in another tent for the night.

Clementine was actually pretty glad that Abilene was more agreeable than she'd thought. She got out her gun, fully prepared to take a shot at anything that tried to come her way. This was one of those nights where she desperately wished for Lee's company. There had been some nights where the two would just sit up and talk until they got sleepy. Clementine missed that dearly.

She took out her photo of Lee, but it wasn't the same. She sighed and held the photo close, looking up at the millions of stars.

"I wish you were still here Lee..." Clementine whispered.

"I miss him too..." a voice said, and Clem turned to see that it was none other than Christa who was walking up behind her. "I miss everybody. Kenny, Ben...Omid." Her voice faltered when she said Omid's name. "Funny how things turn out, huh?"

"Are you okay, Christa?" Clementine asked as the older woman took a seat beside her.

"No," Christa answered honestly. "And I probably won't be for a while."

"Oh," Clementine replied, unable to think of a more proper response.

"I actually came out here to apologize," she said, looking down at Clem. "For the way I've been acting towards you and our new group."

Clementine shrugged, "You don't have to... I mean after everything you've been through-"

"I will not use that as an excuse." Christa said determinedly, and Clem was surprised at her actions.

"But what do you have to be sorry for?" Clementine wanted to know. She thought if anyone owed anyone an apology, it was her.

Christa placed her head in her hands. "Everything," she told the child. "For shutting you out, making you do things that I should be doing...you don't deserve that, Clem, and I'm sorry. It's my fault."

Clementine looked away remorsefully. "You have every right to blame me..."

"Look, it's not like you knew what was going to happen, alright?" For the first time in a long time, Christa's eyes looked soft and pleading. She squeezed her eyes shut. "How did we get here? We lost so much..."

"We're going to be okay Christa," Clementine said gently, placing a hand on the older woman's shoulder. "We're going to get to Wellington, and we're going to be safe."

Christa sighed. "I trust you, Clementine."

And for the first time in such a long time, Clementine smiled widely.

**\\\\**

**Review, please?**


	12. Finding Supplies

A few months passed, and the group of four seemed to be coming along strong. It was around ten months or so now since Omid and Genevieve had passed away, but Christa was putting her shattered pieces back together...slowly but surely. She eventually learned to trust Abilene and Tristan after a bit of time, which the two appreciated. Unfortunately, supplies seemed to run low many times, and today was no exception.

"Damn, where's an old gas station or hospital when you need one?" Tristan let out a sigh.

"I know, but we're lucky no one's hurt," Clementine pointed out. Her stomach growled, and she placed her hands over it. "I am a bit hungry, though."

"We'll find food soon, Clem, don't worry," Abilene tried to reassure her with a weak smile.

Nobody knew where their exact location was, but they were still on the way to Wellington. The weather had been chillier, and it had rained a lot. Clementine guessed that it had to be the start of fall, and she wasn't looking forward to winter all that much either.

"I think we might have a few things left..." Christa pulled the young girl out of her thoughts. She looked inside the small bag to see if there was any food left that Clementine could eat. Sadly, the bag was pretty much close to empty.

"Anything?" Clem asked.

Christa shook her head, "Not unless you want to eat bandages or peroxide." Those were the only things they had left in their small pack of supplies.

"No thanks," Clem replied glumly.

They trekked on, until Tristan suddenly stopped in front of a somewhat large sign. It looked like they were in North Carolina now, meaning that they were a state closer to Wellington now. Tristan grinned and turned around to face the three females.

"Check it out, seems like we're gettin' closer!" he exclaimed.

"We've still got some long, hard days ahead of us," Christa pointed out. "It may still be awhile before we even get near Wellington. We need to try and make it there before winter."

Abilene nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea."

A noise brought the group out of their thoughts, and they turned to its source. Much to their surprise, it was a somewhat small bear. Tristan pulled out his firearm and loaded it, aiming it at the bear.

"Think we could eat that?" he inquired quietly.

"Are you crazy? That could draw walkers!" Abilene whispered.

"We could eat it though..." Christa pondered.

"I don't think we should kill it," Clementine said. "What if it has a family?" she asked sadly.

Tristan lowered his firearm, "You're right, Clem," he said as he put his gun down. "Looks like we'll have to find our meal somewhere else."

"We shouldn't have to look too far though," Abilene perked up. She was the one to always look on the bright side of things.

"I hope not," said Clementine.

The group carried on, and while they were searching for supplies, Clementine began to process her thoughts again. How would Christa act if Omid were still here, if their baby had also survived? Would she be more trustworthy, or the same way she was during her first meeting with Clem, Lee, and the rest of their group? This was just a few things that she pondered on a daily basis. What would it be like if Lee-

"Shit!" Abilene yelled, breaking Clem out of her thoughts.

"What? What is it?" Clementine asked a little worriedly.

"Walkers," Christa answered, taking out her gun.

Clementine became alert immediately, watching her surroundings intently. She didn't have a gun though, because between her and all the other group members, there were only enough firearms for the adults.

So Clem watched as Christa, Tristan, and Abilene began firing at the walkers that blocked their path. They had come this far, and they wouldn't let anyone or anything stop them now. One by one, the walkers fell, and Clementine was glad that there weren't that many to deal with in the first place.

Once all of the walkers were taken care of, Tristan turned around. "Do we have any more ammo?"

Abilene reached into her pocket and pulled out four bullets. "Only four shots."

"Great, that's another thing we need to look for," Christa grumbled.

"Maybe there's some nearby," Clementine shrugged. Like Abilene, the little girl tried to keep a positive attitude, albeit it was hardly ever easy.

"Let's just keep walking," Abilene suggested and the group obliged as they took their footing on the trail again.

Sometimes Clementine didn't like walking all the time, but she would suck it up if it meant getting to someplace safe. But still, nobody knew if Wellington was the real deal yet. It was times like this when Clem thought of Lee. They'd walk beside each other, and he would hold her hand and tell her stories from before all of this ever happened. Clem missed that. She missed him. Maybe he'd still be here if she hadn't run away. She blamed herself for his death.

"Look up ahead!" Tristan said as they stopped dead in their tracks. Clem looked to where he was pointing and saw some sort of big retail store.

"There's got to be supplies in there," Clementine said, smiling and forgetting about her sad thoughts just moments ago.

"Let's go," Christa stated, taking the lead into the store. "Let's hope it's not locked."

So the small group walked up ahead and saw that the glass door was a bit broken, meaning that someone had possibly thrown something to get in and that there might not have been as many supplies as they would have liked. Abilene reached inside the doorknob via the broken part and was able to open the door with ease.

"Alright, let's go," she announced.

They walked inside, and surprisingly, the place wasn't as empty as they imagined it.

"Let's split up," Tristan suggested. "That way, maybe we can all come back with something."

The girls agreed, and went off in separate directions. Clementine headed to the back corner of the store, and saw quite a bit of nonperishable canned food that was surprisingly not expired, so she collected as much as she could, and would have someone else get the rest if possible. She began to walk away when she glanced down briefly, noticing some spare bullets that someone had probably dropped.

Clementine smiled as she bent down to pick up the ammunition. Maybe their luck was beginning to turn after all. She went to see how the others were doing.

"I got food and ammo," Clementine said as she found the others who were already regrouping in the front of the store. "Any luck with you guys?" she asked as she looked around and saw what they had collected. They had found medicine, blankets, fresh water, and much more.

"Good thing we stopped," Christa said. "We really needed this stuff."

"You know, this wouldn't be a bad place to make camp tonight either. It's warm, dry, and safe from walkers." Abilene pointed out, and the older woman was right because it was beginning to get dark out.

"Sounds good." Tristan nodded in approval.

**\\\\**

**Review, please?**


	13. Fogged Out

The night went well, and before Clementine knew it, Christa was shaking her awake and telling her that it was time to keep moving. Clem was hoping that they could possibly stay for a few days at the most, but she knew that staying at one place for too long was a bad idea.

"Are you ready?" Christa asked a few minutes later. Her expression was unreadable, did she have a dream about Omid last night?

Clem nodded. "I'm ready. Are Abilene and Tristan waiting for us?"

"Yeah, come on."

Clementine jumped up, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything, and followed Christa outside to where Abilene and Tristan were waiting. "We've got a lot of walking to do," she had heard Abilene say. The little girl still felt tired, no doubt, but she knew they had to keep going if they wanted to reach Wellington before the winter time came.

"Let's get moving," Christa said as they began walking north again.

And on the little group trekked. Tristan would occasionally check the map he had to make sure that they were going in the right direction. They still had a far way to go before they even got out of North Carolina.

Abilene got out a pair of binoculars and looked through them, making sure that there were no walkers coming at them from a distance.

"Are we clear?" Christa inquired.

"Should be," Abilene responded. "A little hard to tell with this fog, though."

"We have to be careful then." Christa advised. "We won't be able to see the walkers if it's foggy out. Everyone have your weapons ready," she ordered, and the rest of the group answered with a nod. "Okay, let's keep going."

They walked some more, heading straight into the fog. Clementine really couldn't see a thing while they were in the fog. If walkers attacked them now, they'd be at a clear disadvantage.

Her Glock 17 in hand, she was prepared just in case she needed to take down a walker. What she was not prepared for, however, was the walker that sneaked up behind her and knocked her to the ground, causing her to drop her gun several feet away. She let out a yell.

"Shit! Clementine!" Abilene yelled. She grabbed her weapon and prepared to fire a shot, but all was heard was a click. "Goddamn it! Ammo, now!"

But she didn't need to be handed any ammunition, as Tristan shot the walker dead just as it was getting ready to chomp into Clementine's neck. Christa quickly walked over and helped the little girl up.

"Are you okay?" she inquired.

Clem's eyes were wide with fear, but she nodded nonetheless. That was such a close call, and now Clem knew that she had to be alert at all times. Christa smiled lightly, "Okay, let's keep going." They walked through the fog some more, being more careful than before. Clementine had kept her eyes peeled, looking for any little sign of a walker.

"How long do you think this fog will last?" Tristan asked to no one in particular.

"Hard to tell..." Abilene answered.

"It isn't safe to travel in, that's for sure," Clementine commented.

"She's right, we need to stop until it clears up," Tristan agreed with a nod. "Hopefully we can find someplace to sit without worryin' about getting eaten."

Clementine shuddered to herself, trying to forget what had nearly happened to her. She decided to walk next to Abilene as they tried to look for a place to stop, and luckily it only took a few minutes before Christa pointed out an old rest stop.

"We can take shelter over there for now," she said.

The group obliged and headed over to the spot she pointed out. The old rest stop was relatively small, but it would be enough to accommodate the group's needs. "We'll stay until the fog clears," Christa said, and the rest of them agreed. They didn't want a repeat with the walkers.

"We should search this place," Clementine suggested.

"Good idea," Abilene praised. "There may be supplies."

"Clem, you and Christa can search on that side -" Tristan pointed in another direction, "- and Abilene and I can search around here. We're starting to run out of ammo and bandages, so be on the lookout for things like that."

"Got it," Clem noted. She turned around and began walking to the other side with Christa in tow.

Her golden eyes scanned the area carefully, looking for anything that could help them. Her eyes brightened a little bit when she found a roll of bandages, which was something that they needed. But unfortunately, the little girl found nothing else in her search. Christa found a can of beans, but that was about it.

Tristan and Abilene though, didn't have as much luck as they came back empty handed. "Looks like someone already got to this place," Abilene pointed out.

"Clem and I didn't find much either," Christa replied.

Abilene turned her attention to the rest stop window. "That fog doesn't look like it's going to come up anytime soon."

"Looks like we'll be here a while," Christa said.

"That's fine by me," Tristan chuckled a bit. "My feet are killing me from walking so damn much."

Clementine walked over and sat next to Abilene, who began sorting out the supplies that they currently had. The supplies that they had found in the retail store was quite the lucky break. Hopefully they would be able to make them last.

"How long do you think those will last?" Clementine inquired.

"Hopefully more than a couple weeks," Abilene responded. "Bad thing is, we may not get this lucky again for awhile."

"Yeah, you're right," Clem could help but sigh, as she brought her knees to her chest.

"I hope we get to Wellington soon," Clementine sighed.

"I think we're all hoping for that, Clem," Abilene replied with a small smile. "Don't worry about it, we'll get there."

"I hope you're right," Clementine said.

Christa walked over, interrupting the girls' conversation. "Well, since this fog isn't giving up anytime soon we should all get a decent night of sleep. These past months have been exhausting," she said with a sigh.

"That's a good idea Christa. Should one of us keep watch?" Clementine asked.

Christa shook her head, "This rest stop should offer us enough protection."

"Oh. Okay."

"That's great," Tristan announced with a yawn and he stretched out and lay down. "I think we'll all get a good night's sleep for once. God knows all of us really need that. Well, goodnight ladies."

"Goodnight, everyone," Clementine responded, laying down herself.

She placed her head on her arms and closed her eyes, falling asleep in less than a few minutes. Clem felt pretty good, being able to sleep at least a little peacefully for once in so long. It was only several hours later when a banging noise abruptly woke her up.

"What...what's going on?" she inquired, rubbing her eyes.

Tristan looked out the window. "Shit. We've got company."

**\\\\**

**Review, please?**


	14. Fatal Mistakes

Tristan was right, the group indeed had company. Two ghostly figures walking through the thick fog which still hadn't lifted. Tristan searched out the window to try and see who it was, but the fog was too much, he couldn't see anything. "Looks like they're headed this way," he pointed out as the two strangers continued their way to the small rest stop. Christa, Clem, and Abilene all readied their weapons. They did not want another John/Dalton situation.

"Walkers?" Abilene asked.

Tristan shook his head. "Survivors." He could tell by the way they walked upright, and one of them was holding a gun. You could see the shadow of it on the ground.

"Be ready," Christa warned.

The two figures walked closer, and they were indeed human. It was two men, and the group couldn't make out the words they were speaking. When they got close enough, Tristan pointed his gun at them and yelled out.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Tristan, what the hell are you doing?" Abilene hissed quietly.

He turned around to face her, "I'm making sure these people aren't going to hurt us." He then turned back to the window. "Put your weapons down, or I'll shoot!" He threatened, still pointing his gun at the two figures as they approached slowly.

"Don't shoot!" one of the men said and began to lower his gun.

"Who are you?" Tristan demanded to know again.

The two men stepped closer, eventually emerging from the fog. One of them looked to be of Mexican descent, the other one Indian. "Look, we're just trying to find a shelter away from the fog," the first man explained. "My name's Ricardo, and this is Dean. We're not here to hurt no one."

Tristan lowered his weapon, and so did Clementine, but Christa and Abilene were not taking any chances. They continued to point their weapons as Ricardo and Dean slowly walked inside with their hands where they could see them.

"Are you sure you didn't come to steal our supplies?" Christa inquired in a suspicious tone. She still wasn't one to trust immediately, even after all this time.

"No, no ma'am," Dean shook his head.

"Well, this shelter's taken," Christa replied bitterly. "So you're going to have to find a place somewhere else." Clementine wasn't surprised at all by Christa's tone. No way was she going to let two new strangers bunk with her group.

On one hand, Clementine didn't want to send them out into the fog with the walkers. But on the other hand, she didn't want to trust people so easily. She tried to think of what Lee would do, but she was at a loss.

"Maybe someone could stay up, and watch them?" Clementine suggested, tugging on Abilene's sweater.

Abilene looked down at the little girl and seemed to consider it. She hadn't said no to any of Clem's decisions thus far, but she didn't really know what to do in their current situation. Eventually, she sighed and lowered her firearm. "Fine. But whoever stays up needs to watch them_ carefully."_

Christa grunted, and lowered her gun as well. "Clem, why do you always have to do this?" she scolded.

"We can't just leave them out in the fog," Clementine defended. "If it was us out there, wouldn't you want someone to let us in?" she retorted. But Christa ignored her nonetheless. It was clear that the two girls had their differences.

"Thank you," Dean said. "If the fog clears we'll be gone by morning," he added. "But until then we'll try not to cause you any harm."

"Good," Christa spat. "Because I'm tired and I would like to get some rest."

"You mind taking watch?" Tristan asked Abilene.

She shook her head. "I'm fine. You guys go on and get some sleep."

_So much for being able to sleep peacefully,_ Clementine thought as she lay back down in the fetal position. Although she felt that there was no need to add more people to their group, it would still be wrong to just leave them out in the fog. She felt like Lee would have done the same thing or at least something similar, so she hoped that he was proud.

Her eyes closed, but she felt as though she only slept for a few minutes when she was awakened by the sounds of Abilene's shrill screams. Clem thought it was a bad dream at first, but the screaming grew louder so she jumped up, waking from the sound.

It had woken Christa and Tristan up too, and what they saw left them at a complete loss of words.

"Oh my God..." Tristan was the first to speak, his hand over his mouth. He looked like he was going to be sick.

Abilene's throat was slashed, and she was gargling from the blood. A shelf had been knocked over, and a door slammed. The two men had escaped. Clementine's eyes filled with tears.

"Ab...Abilene..." she managed to squeak out, taking a few steps forward.

Christa turned and retched violently in the corner. "We have to find those fuckers," she spat, wiping her mouth on her sleeve.

"It's no use," Tristan replied. "They're probably long gone by now." Clementine didn't say a word though. The only thing she could think about was how this was her fault. She wanted those men to stay, and now look what happened. Another one of her friends was dead and there was nothing she could do about it. She just wanted to cry really, to let out all this pent up frustration.

Clem couldn't keep her eyes off Abilene's dead body, and she realized that the older woman would turn into a walker soon.

She wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands to avoid breaking down in front of Christa and Tristan. "We...we can't let her turn," she pointed out.

Christa clenched and unclenched her fists. No doubt she was sick and damn tired of death by now. Her eyes squeezed shut, she muttered almost dangerously, "One of you do it, then. I'm sick of this shit."

Tristan sighed and took a final look at Abilene, and placed a gentle hand on Clem's back. This was a little surprising, because rarely ever had he been affectionate towards anyone, much less Clementine. "I'll do it, Clem."

Clementine nodded and sniffled, not really in the mood to argue. The ten-year-old decided not to look, despite all she had seen by this point. A gunshot was heard, meaning now that Abilene's brain was destroyed, and she would not reanimate. Clem felt so cold, so dirty. All she wanted to do was collapse to the ground in scream in anger and sadness, but she knew that neither Lee or her mother and father would want that.

"Let's get moving," Christa said numbly. "At least the fog let up." She walked out of the rest stop with Tristan following behind. Clementine took one last look at Abilene before following her remaining group members.

Where would they go now? Were they even any closer to Wellington?

Clem's stomach growled, but she ignored it, deciding that now wouldn't be the best time to bring up food. She just wanted to get as far away from that rest stop as soon as possible.

Tristan was muttering angry obscenities to himself. He had clearly known Abilene the longest out of anyone, so no doubt that he was upset. Clementine decided that it was probably best to leave him alone for the time being.

She walked slowly behind Christa and Tristan, dragging her feet. How many more death would she have to witness before it was finally her turn?

**\\\\**

**I'm really gonna miss Abilene. Review, please?**


	15. Lost And Stranded

A few more months had passed after Abilene's death, and the group had yet to make it to Wellington. In fact, Tristan, Christa, and Clementine were even beginning to lose hope. It seemed as though Wellington was too far away, and they'd never make it there before the winter.

"Haven't we been here before?" Christa asked as they walked along. "I swear we're walking in fucking circles," she cursed. Walkers were hardly the problem anymore. It was more about surviving than anything.

The number of supplies were lowering day after day, and the group of three were getting dangerously skinny because of this. Even after all this time, they were still in North Carolina. In those very same woods, and all because Tristan had lost the map.

"Maybe...maybe we're almost out of the state," Clementine pointed out, trying to bring up a new light.

"We've been in North Carolina for months, there's no way we're almost out," Christa retorted.

Clem sighed, she had long since gotten used to Christa's negativity. But she had to agree, they had been here for a long time. And things were never good when even the eleven-year-old child was beginning to lose faith and hope.

"We can't give up..." Tristan tried to coax.

Christa turned and glared at the man, "Well if you wouldn't have lost the damn map we wouldn't be in this situation would we?" she said in a harsh voice.

Clementine sighed, she did this a lot lately. Her irritability was getting a bit strong as of late. "Don't fight guys," she managed to get out as she walked looking down at the ground. "It'll only cause more trouble."

"Just stay out of it, Clem," Tristan said as nicely as he could muster.

Clementine sighed and turned away as they continued their never-ending trudge to God-knows-where. She wasn't even entirely sure about "Wellington" anymore. It seemed as though the group could never find any peace.

That familiar groaning noise was heard, and Christa rolled her eyes as she took out Abilene's homemade spear. "I'm so fucking sick of this shit."

She plunged the spear into the walker's skull, clear through the eye. Clementine and Tristan looked down with a deadpan expression as they continued walking.

"I still don't see anything," Tristan commented.

"Maybe we should stop instead," Clementine suggested with a shrug.

Christa sighed. "That's all we do is stop. We'll never get to Wellington if all we do is sit on our asses."

"Christa," Clem deadpanned. "What if Wellington doesn't exist?" she asked.

"You don't know that," Christa said.

Clem decided that it was best not to argue with Christa, especially nowadays. She had sometimes been in a good mood, even, when Abilene was still alive. But ever since she'd died, it seemed like Christa was the one to lost the most hope.

"Clementine has a point, we need to stop," Tristan agreed with the little girl. "We've been walkin' for hours. I mean, how long has it been since we've been in another state other than Carolina?"

"Fine," Christa huffed. "Do what you want."

"Let's find a good spot then Clem," Tristan said with a nod and Clementine agreed. They walked for a little while longer until they came across a small clearing in the woods.

"How about here?" Clem asked.

Tristan nodded. "Looks like a pretty good place. We'll stop here for the rest of the night," he said and put down the small bag of supplies that they had.

Clementine just hoped that they wouldn't come across anymore people, especially bandits. She had seen her fair share of bandits during her time in the apocalypse, thank you very much, and she wasn't willing to see another one.

Luckily, there were some logs near a tree, and Tristan set up a fire. It hadn't rained for a few days, so the logs were dry as a bone.

Christa sat glumly on a log, staring out into nothingness. She began muttering to herself, and Clementine swore she heard, "Omid."

_You need to be strong, Christa,_ Clementine thought. _We've gone so far and seen so much. Omid knows you're tough._

Clem knew that things were going to be tough from here on out, but she knew that she had to stay strong. They had made it this far and she wasn't going to give up anytime soon.

"You hungry, Clem?" Tristan asked, pulling the young girl out of her many thoughts.

She shook her head. "Not right now."

"You sure?" the man asked. "There's a can of beans left."

"I'm sure," Clem answered. "Ask Christa."

Tristan turned to Christa and offered her the can of beans. The woman could only shake her head, telling him that they needed to save what little food that they had left for when they really needed it.

"I'll keep watch for tonight," he offered as he placed the can back into his bag. "Why don't the two of you try and sleep for a bit?"

Christa lay down, not in the mood to argue. "How can anyone sleep these days?" she muttered to herself.

Clementine tossed and turned, before eventually falling asleep herself. She wasn't asleep for very long, and knew this when Tristan shook her awake and it was still dark out. She looked into his worried brown eyes.

"Clem, I'm sorry but I need you to take watch until I come back," he whispered. "I heard a noise and I need to check it out."

Clem sat up and rubbed her eyes, and gave the older man a confused expression. "Why?"

"I just want to make sure nothing dangerous is out there," he tried to reassure.

"Should we wake up Christa?" Clem asked sleepily.

Tristan shook his head. "I'll be back in a minute or two, okay? Just keep watch."

"What if you don't come back?" Clementine asked with fear in her eyes.

"Clementine, I promise I won't go far," Tristan reassured, making a cross over his heart in a promise. "Just...keep watch, please? We don't need to wake up Christa and have her on my ass."

Clem sighed, but reluctantly nodded. Tristan walked off, carrying his rifle. The little girl couldn't help but feel somewhat afraid for him, it was pretty dark and traveling at this time was very dangerous. She tapped her foot anxiously and clasped her hands together.

It was about five minutes into her "watch" when she heard a yell and then a curse of, "SHIT!" This caused her to jump out of her skin. She looked to see if Christa had woken up, and luckily she hadn't.

Clementine heard a crunching noise, and a minute later, Tristan came back with a fearful look in his eyes, walking slowly.

"Tristan?" Clementine whispered fearfully. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Tristan looked at his arm, which seemed to be bleeding through the sleeve a little bit, to the child, and to the sleeping woman. It seemed as though he were trying and failing to hide something, so he decided to come clean. He pulled back his sleeve to reveal a small nip.

"Clementine...I'm bitten."

**\\\\**

**Review?**


	16. All That Remains

Tristan's words replayed in Clementine's head over and over again. _"I'm bitten."_ But how? Clementine hadn't seen any walkers around the camp area. The little girl looked over at Tristan with fear in her eyes.

"No...you can't..." she trailed off.

"I'm sorry, Clementine. It just...happened," Tristan shrugged, a look of true remorse crossing his features.

Clem didn't say anything more, her golden eyes being unable to gaze away from the small nip. It looked almost identical to the one Lee had on his arm. But then she thought of something she'd heard about a year earlier. What if they could cut his arm off...?

"We have to cut it off," Clementine spoke urgently. "We have to do it now or it won't work."

Tristan stared at her wide eyed, "Clem...I don't think that's going to work," he said, voice faltering just a bit.

"We have to try!" she argued, and went to grab a knife. She looked back to make sure Christa was still asleep, and sure enough the older woman was laying there still. Clementine looked up at Tristan with her golden eyes, and he stared back at her. Even though they hadn't known each other for long, their hearts still beat with slow anticipation.

"Clem, we can't..." Tristan said. "I'll bleed out. I'll die."

"You're going to die anyway, you're bit," the little girl replied.

Tristan sighed, "Clem..."

"Do you trust me?" she asked him.

The man looked at her reluctantly, and then sighed. "I do. I trust you."

Clementine reached into her backpack and got out a white cloth for Tristan to bite down on, to muffle his possible screams and to avoid any unnecessary attention. Luckily, it was relatively clean. She held out the cloth to Tristan, who opened his mouth and let her insert it inside. Tristan placed his arm on the log, and Clementine hesitantly placed the sharp edge of her knife against it.

"Are you ready?" she inquired slowly.

Tristan briefly took the cloth out of his mouth. "Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose," he grumbled, and placed the cloth back in his mouth.

Clementine sighed, and paused briefly. She had never cut off a body part before, there was a first time for everything. But she knew that she had to be quick if she wanted to save Tristan's life. They were lucky to still have a few bandages left. She sighed, and got to cutting. Tristan bit down hard on the cloth to hold in his screams.

His screams were agonizing as Clementine sawed back and forth through his arm. She heard the bone crunch, and watched the blood as it sprayed everywhere. She had to swallow down some bile so she wouldn't throw up all over the place.

She knew with Tristan screaming liked this, Christa wouldn't stay asleep for long, and sure enough the woman woke up moments later. "What the fuck?" she yelled, eyes going wide at the sight of all the blood. Finally, Clementine was done, so she hurried and grabbed as many bandages as she could. Tristan had passed out from blood loss long ago. "Clementine, what are you doing?" Christa demanded to know.

"I had to cut it off!" the little girl yelled.

"What the fuck..._why?!" _

"He was bitten!" Clementine cried in self-defense as she vigorously wrapped the bandages around Tristan's stump where his arm had formerly been. "I was hoping...maybe it saved him..."

"Goddamn it!" Christa shouted. She squeezed her eyes shut, looking furious. "How in the living FUCK did he get bitten?! Wasn't he supposed to be on watch?"

"He...he woke me up, told me that he heard something," Clementine explained herself as she finished up bandaging Tristan. She hoped to God that this amputation had worked. She checked Tristan's pulse, and luckily he was still breathing.

"It's not going to work," Christa said quietly.

"Why not?" Clementine asked in defense.

"Because I cut off Lee's arm, and it didn't work then, so what makes you think it's going to work now?" Christa retorted.

"Well I had to try!" Clementine said. "I wasn't just going to let him die." Christa said nothing else, and Clementine sat there, waiting for Tristan to wake up. It was about ten minutes later when he finally stirred. "Tristan, you're awake..." Clem said as she looked down at the man.

He got one good look at his arm, and then retched violently. "Holy shit..." he barely managed to get out.

Clementine jumped back. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

"Shit..." Tristan muttered, weakly sitting on the log.

"What the hell are we going to do now?" Christa threw her arms up in the air as she sat on the log. "First Abilene is murdered, now you get bit? Fuck!"

"Wait it out, I suppose?" Tristan shrugged. "Maybe this amputation did work, y'never know. Or...I could still die."

Clementine's face scrunched up, and she turned away. She always hated to think about Lee in his final moments, and this was definitely no exception. The group of three sat on the logs, not exactly knowing what to do. They couldn't exactly go back to sleep knowing full well that Tristan could die and turn.

"Should we keep moving?" Tristan suggested.

"We shouldn't travel at night...it's dangerous," Clementine pointed out, clasping her hands together.

"You two should go back to bed," Tristan suggested.

Christa shook her head. "We have to watch you now, and make sure nothing happens."

"I feel fine though," he argued in defense.

"Doesn't matter," Christa replied. "We have to keep a close eye on you."

"Fine," Tristan answered.

"I hope it worked," Clementine said softly. The little girl absolutely didn't want anyone else to die, too many lives had already been wasted. And Clem also didn't want to be with Christa alone anymore. She couldn't take anymore of her harshness.

"I hope so too, Clem," Tristan nodded.

So, it was going to be a practically sleepless night for all three of them. There wasn't much conversation going on between them, and Clementine swore that she'd seen some people nearby. Hopefully they weren't bandits or anything of the sort.

Come morning, however, Tristan was beginning to look quite weak. His face was paling, and the bandages on his stumped arm were now a bright crimson red. Clementine was fearing the worst, how sick he looked.

"Tristan...?" she trailed off quietly. "How...how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Clem, don't worry 'bout me, alright?" Tristan gave her a light smile, but the little girl could see in his dark eyes that he was lying.

"I know you're sick," Clementine deadpanned.

"No, it's fine, let's just keep moving. Okay?" he said with a small nod.

"Are you sure?" Clem asked just one more time.

Tristan nodded. "Positive."

"Alright," Christa began. "Let's keep moving." The group began to walk, unsure of the direction they were heading, and Clem knew that Tristan wasn't going to make it very far. Did she wait too late to cut his arm off? Or had he lost too much blood in the process of cutting it off? Nobody could know for sure. They only walked for a good ten minutes before Tristan collapsed.

"Tristan!" Clem yelled and ran to the man's side to help him sit up.

"It's no use..." he said. "I'm done for." He was telling the truth, and Clementine didn't know how to respond to that because he was right. There was no way he was going to make it. "You can shoot me," Tristan said quietly, interrupting the girl's thoughts. "Just to make it quicker."

"Tristan-"

"No," the male cut her off, coughing sharply. "Clementine, I ain't gonna make it much further, and we all know this. The last thing I want is to become one of those damn lurkers. So please, just bear with me, okay? You have to shoot me. One of y'all...please."

He walked over to the nearest tree, slowly but surely, and sat down in front of it. Clementine and Christa looked at one another, and it brought the former back to when she had to shoot Lee. It was the worst thing she ever had to do, and to do it again? The little girl could hardly bear this fact.

"Christa..." Clementine trailed off. "I'll do it."

Christa nodded a couple of times, and looked at Tristan. "Thank you for all you've done, and...sorry I was so cruel when we first met."

"It's all right," Tristan stated weakly, letting out another harsh cough. "Nothin' to be sorry for." He leaned against the tree and sighed quietly. Christa looked away, not willing to witness yet another death at this moment.

Clementine approached Tristan, Glock 17 in hand. There were no tears in her golden eyes this time, as they were dead and drained of life. She looked at Tristan with an unhappy expression. She slowly raised the gun.

"I'm sorry, Tristan."

For a few seconds, Clementine had the gun aimed at the man, who looked at her. But quick as a flash, his head drooped and his eyes closed, meaning that he was now dead. Clementine pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into Tristan's brain.

It was just Clementine and Christa again.

Christa turned around, having that same lifeless expression as when Omid first died. "Let's go," she deadpanned.

From that point on, the two females kept walking, not stopping for any break whatsoever. It wasn't until the next night when they finally found some sort of camp to take shelter out in. Christa began to make a fire, while Clementine simply sat on a log, looking towards nothing in particular. It seemed as if this "teamwork" thing was all for nothing thus far. It seemed as though she were a death magnet, with the amount of people that had died around her in this damn apocalypse. And now Christa was reverting back to what she had been approximately sixteen months ago. Clementine turned to looked at the older woman, who was now sitting beside her, looking at the weak attempt at fire with a downcast expression.

"Christa, talk to me."

Little did the two females know, things would continue to change, and not exactly for the better.

**\\\\**

**Okay, and that's where we'll end it. :) Heidi and I appreciate the support we've gotten for this fanfiction, which was pretty cool to write. We're probably going to do a couple more co-writes in the near future, so be on the lookout for those. Also, don't hesitate to shoot either one of us a PM for story ideas, we both love those! :) Oh, and please review. XD**


End file.
